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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


_3 


/i 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/fromblacksQathroOOweekiala 


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FROM   THE   BLACK   SEA 


THROUGH 


Persia  and  Ixdia 


EDWIN  LORD  WEEKS 


ILLUSTRATED    BY    THE    AUTHOR 


NEW    YORK 
HARPER   k   BROTHERS   PUBLISHERS 

1896 


Copyright,  1895,  by  Harper  &  Brothers. 
All  rights  reserved. 


College 
Library 

'^  C 


PREFACE 


These  preliminary  lines  of  explanation  are  only  to  show 
why  this  journey  was  undertaken  at  such  an  unfortunate 
moment,  and  that  there  was  some  underlying  method  in 
its  apparent  madness.  When  the  route  was  first  mapped 
out,  it  was  our  intention  to  follow  the  line  of  the  Trans- 
Caspian  Railway  to  Samarcand,  and  thence  to  Herat,  and 
through  Afghanistan  to  India.  But  the  political  situation 
and  the  civil  war  in  Afghanistan  rendering  such  a  trip 
hazardous,  we  decided  to  taiie  the  trans-Persian  direction, 
and  to  enter  Persia  near  Meshed. 

As  Mr.  Theodore  Child's  well-known  work  on  Russia 
had  made  him  favorably  known  in  official  circles,  the 
Russian  government  had  kindly  offered  us  every  facility 
in  passing  through  its  territory.  "With  the  permission 
from  the  War  Department  to  visit  Central  Asia  came  an 
urgent  telegram  from  the  American  legation  at  St.  Pe- 
tersburg, advising  us  not  to  go  on  account  of  the  cholera, 
which,  after  devastating  Meshed,  had  left  Persia  and  in- 
vaded the  Russian  provinces.  We  were  then  leaving  for 
Constantinople  by  the  Camhoge,  and  finding  that  she 
would  not  proceed  to  Batoum,  by  reason  of  quarantine, 
we  were  again  forced  to  change  our  route.  This  time  wo 
elected  to  follow  the  old  caravan  r<md  from  Trebizond.  on 


ni5G29 


via  PREFACE 

the  Black  Sea,  to  Tabreez,  through  the  mountains  of  Kur- 
distan, that  country  of  indefinite  boundaries. 

In  short,  there  was  no  other  route  left  open  to  us ;  we 
must  either  turn  back,  or,  setting  our  faces  forward,  head 
straight  for  the  Persian  frontier,  five  hundred  miles  away, 
and  we  decided  to  go  on, 

Edwin  Lokd  Weeks. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

BY    CARAVAN    FROM    TREBIZOND    TO    TABREEZ 1 

FROM    TABREEZ    TO    ISPAHAN 44 

FROM    ISPAHAN    TO    KLRRACHEE 93 

LAHORE    AND    THE    PUNJAUB 147 

A   painter's   impressions   of   RAJPOOTANA 195 

OUDEYPORE,   THE    CITY    OF    THE    SUNRISE 249 

NOTES    ON    INDIAN    ART 306 

HINDOO    AND    MOSLEM 346 

RECENT    IMPRESSIONS    OF    ANGLO-INDIAN    LIFE 391 


ILLUSTKATIONS 


PAGE 

EDWIN  LORD  WEEKS  {Photogravure) .  Frontispiece 

CAMEL    CARAVAN    BT    MOONLIGHT 3 

IN    THE    TEA    GARDEN 5 

ACCIDENT    JCST    BEFORE   BAIBOURT 11 

INTERIOR    OF    CAFE    AT    BAIBOCRT 13 

camel's  head  and  trappings 17 

watering  horses  on  the  euphrates noonday 21 

entering  taya  pass 25 

irrigation  canal  and  armenian  girl 27 

mount  ararat 28 

kurdish  shepherd 31 

persian  guard 33 

a  cholera  incident  near  khoi 38 

early  morning shore  of  lake  urumiyah 41 

persian  mother  and  child 45 

interior  of  bazaar  at  tabreez 51 

loading  the  pack-horses sunrise 53 

hadji  the  chavadar  and  his  arab  steed 56 

our  tent  at  night 58 

packing  baggage  before  sunrise 63 

THE   shah's   highway 66 

GRAIN    MARKET,  TEHERAN 7<^ 

THE    BOULEVARD    DES    AMBASSADEURS,   TEHERAN 72 

PEOPLE    WE    MEET    BY    THE    WAY 75 

THE    BATHING-TANK    OF    THE    CARAVANSARY LATE    AFTERNOON 77 

SILVER    DOOR    OF    THE    COLLEGE    OF    ISPAHAN 81 

PUL-I-KHAJU    BRIDGE,    ISPAHAN 85 

ENTRANCE    TO    THE    GRAND    BAZAAR    AT    ISPAHAN 87 

THEODORE    CHILD 90 


X  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

ON    THE    "  CHEHAR    BAGH,"    ISPAHAN 95 

LOWERING   LUGGAGE    FROM   THE    HOUSE-TOP    AT   DAWN 98 

QUARANTINE    GUARD   AT   DEHGADU 103 

MOSQUE    DOOR    AT    SHIRAZ Ill 

CARAVANSARY   AT    SHIRAZ 115 

GARDEN    AT    SHIRAZ SUNSET 117 

CARAVANSARY    OF   MIAN-KOTAL 120 

THE    PASS    OF   THE    DAUGHTER 123 

UNDER   THE    AWNINGS 130 

BOATS   SEEN    FROM    THE    DECK  .              134 

HORSES    ON    DECK 137 

ON   THE    BEACH    AT    LINGAH 139 

BLACK    SIRENS    OF    MUSCAT 141 

MUSCAT   FROM    THE    HOUSE-TOPS SUNSET 144 

GATE    OF   THE    MOSQUE    VAZIR  KHAN 151 

PUNJAUBI    INFANTRY 155 

GOING   TO    THE    REVIEW 159 

A    LAHORE    STREET — MORNING 163 

AN    OPEN-AIR   RESTAURANT,  LAHORE 170 

CARVED    BALCONIES 173 

MINARET    OF   THE    MOSQUE   VAZIR    KHAN 176 

tailor's    APPRENTICE,  LAHORE 178 

TAILOR   SHOP,  LAHORE 179 

dyer's  shop 182 

COURT    OF   THE   MOSQUE   VAZIR   KHAN 184 

STEPS    OF   THE    MOSQUE    VAZIR   KHAN 187 

ENTRANCE    TO    THE    GOLDEN    TEMPLE    OF    AMRITSAR 189 

FLOWER-SELLERS    IN    THE    GOLDEN    TEMPLE 191 

SCHOOL    OF   THE    GOLDEN    TEMPLE 193 

WATCHING   THE   TRAIN 201 

PALACE    WINDOWS,  JODHPORE 205 

CASTLE    OF   THE    RAJAHS   OF   JODHPORE 213 

FIRST-CLASS    COMPARTMENT    ON    THE    ROAD    TO    BIKANIR 221 

THIRD-CLASS   PASSENGERS 225 

AT    A    WAY    STATION    NEAR    BIKANIR 228 

PALACE   OF   THE    RAJAH    OF    BIKANIR 231 

MARKET-PLACE,   BIKANIR 233 

STREET    IN    BIKANIR 235 

FEEDING   THE    SACRED   PIGEONS,  JEYPORE 239 

CHEETAH    AND    KEEPER,  JEYPORE    241 

elephant's    HEAD,  JEYPORE 243 


ILLUSTRATIONS  xi 

PACK 

COURT   OF   THE   PALACE    OF   AMBER,  JEYPORK 245 

PALACE    OF   THE   MAHARAJAH    OF   GWALIOR,  SCINDIA 247 

MAIL-CARRIER    AND    GUARD 251 

STEPS    OF   THE    TEMPLE 25tj 

STREET    AND    PAINTED    HOUSES 258 

CASTLE    OF    THE    RANAS    OF    OUDEYPORE 2()1 

CASTLE    AND    PALACE    FROM    ACROSS    THE    LAKE 203 

A    TILED    WINDOW    IN    THE    PALACE 265 

THE    MARBLE    STEPS PICHOLA    LAKE 2(59 

ISLAND    OF    JUG    NAVAS 272 

ELEPHANTS    DRINKING,   PICHOLA    LAKE 275 

OX    THE    ISLAND    OF    JUG    MUNDER 279 

JUG    MUNDER THE    LANDING 281 

BOY    DECORATING    IDOL    WITH    FLOWERS 283 

IN    THE    BAZAAR,  OUDEYPORE 285 

RAX    META    PANNA    LAL,  PRIME-MINISTER 287 

FATEH    LAL    MEHTA,  OF    OUDEYPORE,  IN    COURT    DRESS 291 

THE    MAHARANA 293 

JUGGLER    WITH    TRAINED    MONKEYS 299 

FRIEZE    OF    ELEPHANTS    AT    CHITOR 303 

UPPER    GALLERIES    OF    HINDOO    HOUSE    OF    CARVED   AND    PAINTED    WOOD         .       .  308 

WINDOW   IN   THE    PALACE    OF    AMBER,   SHOWING    MARBLE    LATTICE    AND    INLAID 

GLASS    DECORATION 311 

DOORWAY    OF    THE    MOSQUE    OF    PURANA    KELA,   NEAR    DELHI 314 

GATEWAY    OF    MOSQUE,  FUTTEHPORE-SIKRI 315 

SHAH    JEHAN 317 

THE    TAJ    MAHAL 319 

THE    TAJ    MAHAL,   FROM    ACROSS    THE    JUMNA 321 

THE    JUMNA    MUSJID,  DELHI 325 

WINDOWS    IN    OLD    DELHI 328 

TEAK-WOOD    DOORWAY,   AHMEDABAO 331 

WINDOW    OF    queen's    MOSQUE,  AHMEDABAD       .....                      ...  333 

SCULPTURE    AROUND    THE    DOORWAY    OF    A    TEMPLE,   MLTTRA    (MODERN)     .       .       .  334 

STONE    BRACKETS    AT    MUTTRA 335 

VISTA    IN    THE    NEW  ART    MUSEUM,  LAHORE 337 

CARVED    WOOD    BRACKET    AND    CAPITAL,  BOMBAY 339 

BALCONY  OF    THE    PALACE    OF    THE    SETHS,   AJMEER      . 340 

IN    THE    COURT    OF    THE    PALACE    OF    THE    SETHS,  AJMEER 343 

HINDOOS    AT  A    VILLAGE    WELL 349 

THE    MCLLA 353 

HINDOO    AND    MOSLEM    BARBERS      355 


XU  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGK 

HINDOO    WOMEN,  SUBURBS   OF   BOMBAY 357 

SNAKE-CHARMER 361 

BKLOOCHEE 364 

AFGHAN 365 

PUBLIC    LETTER-WRITER,   LAHORE 369 

FAKIR,  TWILIGHT 3V2 

A    FAKIR,  BENARES 375 

YOUNG    NAUTCH    GIRL 378 

FAKIRS    AT    BENARES 381 

FEAST   OP   GANESHA,  BENARES 384 

NAUTCH   DANCER    387 

THE    FORT,  BOMBAY,  FROM    MALABAR    HILL 392 

CHOTA    HAZRI 394 

THE   CHUPRASSI 397 

PUNKAH   WALLAH 399 

SUNSET   FROM    MY   WINDOW 401 

THE    KHANSAMAH 405 

THE    GARDEN-PARTY SUNSET 409 

UNDER   THE   PUNKAH   OF   THE   YACHT   CLUB 415 

THE   POLO-MATCH,  FROM   THE    MESS-TENT 423 

MODERN    FIRE-WORSHIPPERS 427 

MARKETING,  SAHARANPORE 431 

THE    TEMPTERS 435 


FEOM    THE    BLACK    SEA 
THROUGH    PERSIA    AND    IXDIA 


BY  CARAYAX  FROM  TREBIZOXD  TO  TABREEZ 

Trehizond,  July  £?,  1892. — A  blue  bay,  calm  and  peace- 
ful, lies  before  us  as  we  look  out  from  under  the  awnings 
of  the  Camhoge,  and  the  city,  a  compact  mass  of  white  and 
yellow  masonry,  rises  in  terraces  along  the  shore.  An 
amphitheatre  of  barren  hills  encircles  the  bay.  We  are 
rowed  to  the  custom-house ;  and  Artemis,  the  Armenian 
dragoman,  whom  we  had  engaged  at  Constantinople,  has 
been  instructed  to  save  us  trouble  at  any  expense.  An 
ancient  Turk,  who  has  been  detailed  to  burrow  into  our 
bags  and  boxes,  mercifully  ignores  the  fire-arms  and  cart- 
ridges, but  pounces  at  once  on  Murray's  hand-books  for 
Bengal  and  the  Punjaub,  and  Adams's  Cable  Codex,  which 
he  scrutinizes  severely.  The  printed  page  in  an  unknown 
language  is  considered  by  the  Ottoman  official  to  be 
fraught  with  peril  to  the  peace  of  all  true  believers. 
These  suspicious  volumes  are  detained  for  the  examina- 
tion of  the  censor,  but  were  kindh'  returned  to  us  on  the 
following  day,  duly  indorsed  on  their  fly  -  leaves,  to  the 
effect  that  nothing  detrimental  to  the  religion  of  Moham- 
med had  been  found. 

At  last  we  are  allowed  to  pass  through  the  ponderous 
inner  gate,  and  joyfully  follow  the  porters  carrying  our 
baggage,  who  are  struggling  up  the  roughly  paved  street 
towards  the  little  hotel.  This  hotel  is  kept  by  Greeks : 
and  the  vine-shaded  stoop,  reached  by  a  steep  flight  of 
steps  on  each  side,  is  not  uninviting. 
I 


2  A  CENTRE   OF  TRAFFIC 

Trebizond  is  a  city  of  some  thirty  thousand  inhabitants. 
Persia  begins  here,  practically  if  not  politically,  and  the 
road  from  Trebizond,  through  Erzeroum,  to  Tabreez,  or 
Tauris,  the  largest  city  in  Persia,  is  undoubtedly  the  oldest 
caravan  route  in  the  world.  All  the  merchandise  from  the 
north  of  Persia  to  western  Europe  and  England  passes 
over  it,  and  the  return  traffic  is  equally  important.  The 
time  of  transit  is  rather  uncertain.  We  were  told  in 
Tabreez  that  it  often  took  three  months  from  Persia  to 
the  Black  Sea  by  camel  caravans,  which  usually  travel  by 
night,  and  rest  during  the  day.  When  they  reach  a  grassy 
nook,  or  fertile  hollow  high  among  the  hills,  the  beasts  are 
unloaded  and  turned  out  to  pasture,  while  the  drivers 
light  their  camp-fires  and  brazen  samovars  under  roughly 
extemporized  shelters  of  rugs  and  hempen  mats,  erected 
among  the  square  bales  of  merchandise  packed  at  Tabreez 
or  Teheran. 

The  main  bazaar  of  Trebizond,  which  is  interesting  on 
account  of  the  variety  of  its  products  from  the  East  and 
the  far  West,  has  one  long  artery  partly  roofed  over,  and 
some  narrower  parallel  veins  of  commerce  straggling  up 
and  down  the  hill ;  it  is  particularly  rich  in  the  embroid- 
ered bags  and  saddlery  and  the  roughly  picturesque  mule 
trappings  of  Asia  Minor  and  Kurdistan.  Here,  too,  are 
weapons  of  every  description,  from  the  silver-hilted  pistols 
and  swords  left  by  the  Kurdish  cavaliers,  to  the  latest 
Martini  and  Winchester  rifles.  The  genuine  Smith  & 
Wesson  revolver  is  not  rare,  but  more  frequently  still  is 
the  clever  imitation  made  in  liussian  workshops. 

In  the  centre  of  the  town  is  a  small  park-like  enclosure, 
much  frequented  by  resident  Persians  as  a  tea-garden,  and 
nothing  stronger  than  effervescent  lemonade  is  sold  there. 
Near  by  are  several  great  caravansaries  with  court-yards, 
where  the  "  arabas  "  and  other  quaint  vehicles  from  the 


CAMEL    CARAVAN    BY    MOONLIGHT 


4  A  MOUNTAIN  ADVENTURE 

interior  are  put  up.  A  winding  road  bordered  by  pleas- 
ant gardens  and  cemeteries  with  venerable  black  cypresses 
leads  to  the  hills  high  above  the  bay.  Down  this  road 
come  the  Kurdish  horsemen  and  the  long  camel  trains  led 
by  flat-faced  and  ruddy  Tartar  drivers,  their  sunburnt 
cheeks  shaded  by  shaggy  peaked  caps  of  camel's-hair  or 
sheepskin.  The  leading  camel,  always  a  majestic  brute, 
carries  his  head  proudly  aloft,  decorated  with  a  ponderous 
mass  of  colored  tassels  and  jingling  bells. 

A  favorite  resort  in  the  late  afternoon  is  a  little  Persian 
tea-garden  by  the  road-side,  looking  down  on  the  harbor 
and  the  distant  town.  The  view  is  like  a  vignette,  framed 
by  trellises  with  vine  leaves  and  the  drooping  fronds  of 
the  weeping-willow.  Pink  rhododendrons  and  white- 
flowering  shrubs  are  set  in  moss-covered  pots  and  boxes. 
A  rude  projecting  balcony,  higher  up,  over  the  shrubbery, 
is  frequented  by  Turks,  whose  turbaned  heads  cut  like 
black  silhouettes  against  the  pale  orange  of  the  evening 
sky.  Only  tea  is  served  here,  and  the  waiters  are  two 
Persian  boys,  who  bring  it  in  small  glass  cups,  together 
with  burning  coals  in  metal  trays,  for  the  kalyans  and 
cigarettes  of  the  loungers  at  the  little  round  tables.  A 
row  of  distant  and  slender  cypresses  of  inky  blackness  is 
pencilled  against  the  sky. 

July  '23d. — The  strange  little  table  d'hote  at  the  hotel 
is  filled  at  the  dinner  hour  by  a  company  of  Levantines 
and  Greeks.  All  wear  the  fez.  My  neighbor,  a  burly 
sunburnt  man,  is  relating  in  French  a  recent  adventure 
among  the  mountains  beyond  Erzeroum.  He  was  sleep- 
ing at  night  in  a  hut,  when  five  armed  Kurds  entered 
through  the  window,  bound  him  hand  and  foot,  and  car- 
ried ofi"  his  money,  clothing,  and  other  belongings.  Al- 
though this  narrative  is  addressed  to  a  young  Greek  at  tlie 
end  of  the  table,  it  is  not  lost  on  the  two  strangers  who 


IN    THE    TKA-GARDKN 


had  planned  this  cam- 
paign at  the  Cafe 
Araericain,  and  matured 
it  definitely  in  the  up- 
roar of  the  Casino,  It 
is  needless  to  say  that 
the  Kurds  were  not  tak- 
en into  account.  They  look  blankly  at  each  other,  and 
think  of  the  rouleaux  of  napoleons,  of  sovereigns,  and  tlie 
precious  packages  of  five-pound  notes  and  roubles  whicli 
they  hope  to  carry  safely  through  Kurdistan  and  over  the 
Persian  border.  The  victim  of  this  midnight  aggression 
proves  to  be  an  English  subject  in  the  employ  of  the  Otto- 
man tobacco  monopoly,  which  fact  may  have  had  some- 
thing to  do  with  his  misfortune.  "When  he  finds  that  we 
have  the  same  mother-tongue,  he  oifers  us  much  frank 
and  sound  advice,  urging  us  particularly  not  to  slee})  in 
tents  beyond  Erzeroum.  As  he  usually  passed  the  night 
in  village  huts  or  in  road-side  "  khans,"  he  had  invented 


6  OUR  SLEEPING-TENT 

an  insect-proof  sleeping-tent,  constructed  of  white  rauslin, 
shaped  like  a  long  cube,  at  least  three  yards  in  length  and 
two  in  height.  When  in  use,  this  tent  is  suspended  from 
the  ceiling  or  walls  b}''  a  cord  at  each  corner,  so  that  the 
bottom  lies  upon  the  floor.  The  entrance  is  a  round  hole 
at  one  end,  with  a  long  sleeve-like  funnel,  through  which 
he  who  would  sleep  in  peace  wriggles  in,  letting  the 
sleeve  drop  behind  him.  It  is  an  admirable  invention, 
and  we  order  a  pair  of  them. 

With  the  advice  and  assistance  of  the  consular  drago- 
man we  lay  in  a  stock  of  liquors  and  canned  provisions 
for  emergencies.  Two  means  of  conveyance  are  open  to 
us  from  Trebizond  to  Erzeroum — either  a  train  of  pack- 
horses  and  mules,  or  an  araba,  which  will  carry  all  our 
baggage,  and  in  which  our  dragoman  and  cook  can  sleep. 
We  decide  upon  the  latter,  but  we  should  have  lost  less 
time  had  we  taken  pack-horses. 

An  araba,  it  should  be  explained,  is  a  great  lumber- 
ing tented  w^agon,  much  lighter  than  it  appears  to  be,  and 
not  unlike  an  American  '*  prairie  schooner."  The  best 
arabas  are  built  in  Russia.  The  cart  has  four  wheels, 
but  no  springs  ;  the  sides  slope  inward  from  above,  and 
the  tail  projects  backward  beyond  the  hooped  tent  which 
covers  the  forward  part.  The  four  horses  are  harnessed 
abreast  to  a  single  long  pole.  This  vehicle  seems  at  first 
sight  to  be  rudely  and  clumsily  constructed,  but  upon 
examination  it  will  be  found  that  the  toughest  wood  and 
the  best  iron  and  steel  only  are  em])loyed.  This  cart  will 
stand  any  amount  of  rough  usage,  and  the  threatening 
perils  through  which  ours  passed  unscathed  are  almost 
beyond  belief.  It  is  not  eas}^  to  give  the  faintest  notion 
of  the  roads,  if  roads  they  can  be  called,  over  which  our 
arabas  labored  w4th  ever-increasing  vicissitudes,  and  as 
we  approached  the  soaring  passes  near  the  boundary  of 


PERSIAN  ARABAS  7 

Persia  they  rolled  and  thundered  over  the  rocks,  straining 
and  pitching  like  ships  in  foul  weather.  Let  the  reader 
imagine  a  heavy  army  wagon,  laden  with  baggage  and 
men,  dragged  by  four  horses  over  the  higher  passes  of  tlie 
Alps — not  over  macadamized  roads,  such  as  the  Simplon, 
but  over  mule  tracks  like  the  Grimsel  Pass,  and  sometimes 
as  high  as  the  Dent-du-Midi — and  then  over  sections  of 
road  partly  destroyed  by  landslides  and  heavy  rains,  and 
down  the  slippery  banks  of  rivers  or  the  beds  of  mountain 
torrents.  Imagine  these  passes  of  six,  seven,  or  nine  thou- 
sand feet  in  height  to  occur  not  once  or  twice  only,  but 
day  after  day  and  week  after  week,  through  the  wilder- 
ness of  mountains  south  of  Ararat  and  along  the  borders 
of  Kurdistan.  We  once  rode  a  hundred  yards  in  the 
araba  down  the  bed  of  a  river,  and  the  sensation  was 
like  that  of  being  tossed  in  a  blanket.  It  is  hardl}^  neces- 
sary to  say,  then,  that  our  luggage  suffered  far  more  from 
the  endless  grating  and  grinding  of  each  package  against 
its  neighbor  than  if  it  had  been  packed  on  horses.  "We 
had  brought  our  saddles  from  Paris,  and  secured  fairly 
good  horses  for  ourselves.  The  staff  consists  of  Artemis, 
the  dragoman  ;  Diamante,  the  cook,  a  native  of  Trebizond  ; 
the  driver  of  the  araba,  a  crusty  and  superstitious  old 
Persian ;  and  a  younger  man,  part  owner  of  the  horses, 
with  one  or  two  supernumeraries. 

As  soon  as  our  various  chests,  packages,  and  the  tents 
are  placed  in  the  wagon  the  rear  is  filled  up  and  fenced 
in  with  the  musty  old  pack-saddles  of  the  horses,  to  be 
used  on  their  return  journey.  After  all  our  later  expe- 
riences of  pack-saddles  I  can  remember  none  that  were 
as  malodorous  as  this  first  instalment,  and  we  could  not 
but  pity  the  dapper  dragoman  who  was  compelled  by 
perverse  fate  to  leave  the  flesh-pots  of  J*era  and  eat, 
drink,  and  sleep  in  this  tainted  atmosphere. 


8  A  SPECIMEN  ROAD 

Everything  is  ready  at  last,  passports  are  covered  with 
numerous  visas  in  Turkish  and  Persian,  and  our  stock  of 
provisions  stowed  in  the  cart.  The  driver  cracks  his 
whip,  and  the  procession  winds  slowly  up  the  hill  in  the 
noonday  heat.  There  had  been  heavy  rains  a  few  days 
before,  and  the  roads  were  reported  to  be  in  bad  con- 
dition. Two  hours  from  Trebizond  we  reach  a  stretch  of 
deep  mire.  The  men  go  on  in  front  to  reconnoitre,  and 
conclude  to  drive  ahead;  the  horses  sink  deeper  as  they 
advance,  the  mud  reaches  their  girths,  and  the  wagon 
wheels  are  buried  to  the  hubs.  Blows  and  kicks  avail  noth- 
ing, and  the  poor  animals  soon  cease  to  struggle.  Then 
the  baggage  is  taken  out  and  carried  to  a  place  of  safety, 
and  some  laborers  are  found  who  dig  out  a  passage  with 
their  shovels.  A  mule  train  coming  in  the  opposite  di- 
rection is  even  in  a  worse  plight ;  one  heavily  laden  don- 
key is  only  kept  from  sinking  out  of  sight  by  his  broad 
pack-saddle;  an  old  worn-out  horse,  after  hopelessly 
floundering  close  to  the  bank  where  the  mud  is  deepest, 
resigns  himself  to  his  fate,  tormented  on  one  hand  by 
showers  of  blows  and  kicks,  and  on  the  other  by  clouds 
of  flies  which  settle  on  his  face,  the  only  visible  portion. 
But  all  are  rescued  after  heroic  efforts,  and  a  few  hours 
further  on  this  scene  is  partly  repeated,  but  we  extricate 
ourselves  with  less  difficulty. 

Djevislik,  July  ^Jfth.  —  A  small  neat  village,  with  a 
long  main  street  lined  by  houses  with  widely  projecting 
eaves,  a  cafe  or  two,  and  a  small  khan  or  rest^iouse. 
All  day  we  follow  the  road,  now  dry  and  dusty,  along 
the  side  of  a  deep  valley,  far  above  the  stream,  which  we 
cross  by  a  bridge  at  daybreak.  We  look  down  on  highly 
cultivated  slopes,  sunn}'-  vineyards,  and  up  to  the  forest- 
clad  heights  on  either  side.  The  clustered  white  houses 
of  the  villages,  and  the  tin-roofed  bell-towers  of  Arme- 


A  COUNTRY   DANCE  9 

nian  churches  and  convents,  sparkling  in  the  sunh'ght, 
recall  in  a  measure  the  Val  d'Aosta,  and  the  Yal  Sava- 
ranche. 

Tasch]ceuj>reu,  July  25ih. — Here  we  halt  for  the  night, 
quite  in  the  heart  of  this  Turkish  Switzerland.  Mounting 
a  rickety  wooden  staircase  from  the  road,  we  unpack  our 
belongings  in  the  small  but  clean  guest-room  of  the 
khan.  From  a  raised  platform  built  against  the  rail- 
ing of  the  veranda  we  watch  the  arrival  of  the  other 
four  arabas  and  the  unloading  of  their  freight  of  home- 
ward-bound Persians  as  they  draw  up  in  the  street  below. 
These  travellers  settle  themselves  on  the  green  turf, 
along  the  whitewashed  wall  of  a  low  house  adjoining 
the  khan,  and  spread  out  all  their  paraphernalia  of  rugs 
and  blankets,  samovars,  and  copper  pots.  AYreaths  of 
mist  which  have  been  accumulating  in  the  valley  below 
now  settle  among  the  pine-clad  slopes  above  us,  and  a 
gray  twilight  envelops  all.  Fires  flash  out  along  the 
street ;  there  is  a  sound  of  sizzling  and  frying,  with  the 
attendant  odors.  The  horses  are  picturesquely  grouped 
in  circles  around  the  hempen  trays  attached  to  the  poles 
of  the  wagons,  in  which  their  barley  is  supplied.  After 
the  culinary  functions  are  over,  the  drivers  and  some  of 
the  pilgrims  organize  a  sort  of  country  dance.  All  stand 
in  a  row,  one  or  two  of  them  sing  a  monotonous  chant, 
agitating  their  handkerchiefs,  while  the  rest  beat  time 
with  their  feet.  Several  of  the  spectators  seated  along 
the  stone  wall  which  borders  the  road  are  rouglily  but 
good-naturedly  dragged  up  and  made  to  take  ]:)art  in  the 
jjerformance. 

July  26th. — Our  road  still  ascends  through  magnificent 
forests  with  towering  beeches,  pojilars,  and  evergreens. 
Streams  of  water  cross  the  road,  and  there  is  a  dense  and 
tangled  growth  in  the  deep  ravines  below.     Sometimes 


10  MID-DAY   REST 

we  are  blockaded  by  trains  of  little  ox -carts  carrying 
timber.  The  wooden  trucks  of  these  carts  when  in  mo- 
tion keep  up  a  monotonous  shrieking  and  groaning  which 
can  be  heard  a  mile  away.  Squads  of  Turkish  infantry 
occasionally  pass,  on  their  way  to  the  interior.  At  a  turn 
of  the  road  the  forest  ceases,  and  we  come  at  once  upon 
a  country  of  ochre-tinted,  glaring  hills,  sparsely  dotted 
with  stunted  evergreen  shrubs.  We  halt  at  mid-day  on  a 
high,  bare  ridge.  A  fresh  breeze  blows  straight  in  our 
faces  from  the  line  of  snow -streaked  ridges  a  day's  jour- 
ney beyond  us.  Henceforward  these  snow-spotted  heights 
are  always  in  sight,  but  never  by  any  chance  do  we 
reach  them.  The  landscape  is  severe  and  monotonous, 
but  there  is  variety  within  its  monotony.  We  descend 
steep  hill-sides  shaded  by  scattered  pines.  The  sun  burns 
fiercely ;  at  times  a  boisterous  wind  envelops  us  in 
clouds  of  dust ;  this  is  almost  a  relief,  as  it  helps  us  to 
resist  the  ever -increasing  drowsiness.  There  are  places 
where  the  yellow  cliffs  behind  us  reflect  an  overpowering 
glare,  and  we  ride  through  a  stratum  of  heated  air  like 
the  breath  of  a  furnace.  Yet  the  pocket -thermometer 
held  on  the  saddle  seldom  shows  more  than  105°  Falir., 
save  in  these  exceptional  spots.  The  nights  at  this  eleva- 
tion are  almost  invariably  fresh  and  cool. 

JSrqui,  July  37th. — To-day  an  accident  nearly  led  to 
the  utter  wrecking  of  the  araba  and  its  contents,  and 
one  of  the  horses  is  so  badly  injured  that  we  shall  have  to 
replace  him  at  the  next  town.  We  enter  a  series  of  deep 
and  narrow  ravines,  with  Avails  of  no  great  height,  but 
rocky  and  savage  in  character.  The  road,  narrow  and 
rudely  built,  passes  in  one  place  under  an  overhanging 
cliff  on  the  left,  and  some  fifteen  feet  below,  on  the  other 
side,  lies  the  channel  of  a  torrent.  There  is  not  room  for 
the  four  horses  to  past  abreast,  and  scarcely  room  for  the 


breadth  of  the  araba,  but 
the  men  urge  their  beasts  on, 
with  shouts  and  blows.  The 
outermost  horee  falls  over 
the  ledge,  and  hangs  sus- 
pended by  the  bit  and  one  or 
two  straps  which  have  not 
parted,  vainly  struggling  to 
find  a  foothold  on  the  slid- 
inor  soil.  Tlie  road  caves  in 
and  crumbles  away  under  the  feet  of  the  second  horse,  and 
he,  too,  is  dragged  down.  Then  the  men  in  the  cart  throw 
their  weight  on  the  inner  side,  which  restores  its  balance, 
and  cutting  loose  the  fallen  horse,  manage  to  rescue  tiie 


ACCIDENT    jrST    BEFORE    BAIBOrUT 


12  A   TYPICAL  CARAVANSARY 

second.     The  poor  brute  which  fell  first  is  badly  cut  and 
bruised. 

Baibourt^  July  ^8th. — We  enter  this  city  in  a  whirl- 
wind of  yellow  dust.  A  steep  and  tawny  ridge  of  rock 
rises  above  it,  bearing  like  a  crest  the  irregular  broken 
walls  and  flanking  towers  of  an  ancient  citadel,  presuma- 
bly of  Byzantine  origin.  Following  in  the  w^ake  of  the 
Persian  arabas,  we  reach  the  lofty  entrance  of  a  great 
caravansary.  The  carts  are  driven  under  the  arch  into  a 
dark  and  fonl-smelling  stable.  A  steep  and  narrow  stair- 
way takes  us  to  an  upper  guest-room  of  the  khan.  Here 
we  find  high  clay  platforms  on  three  sides,  divided  by 
low  railings  into  sleeping  compartments,  carpeted  with 
straw  matting,  suggestively  dingy;  a  clay  fireplace  occu- 
pies one  end,  but  our  cooking  is  done  outside  in  the  passage. 
Half-way  down  the  dark  and  unswept  stairs  a  door  opens 
into  the  common  guest-room  and  cafe  combined.  Our 
fellow-travellers  have  grouped  themselves  picturesquely 
on  the  wide  platforms.  The  drivers  and  muleteers  are 
mending  their  multicolored  rags,  and  the  great  brass 
samovars  are  steaming  over  the  fireplaces.  The  picture 
has  the  rich  and  bituminous  tone  of  a  Teniers,  but  the 
high,  peaked  fur  caps  are  more  suggestive  of  Russia  or 
Siberia  than  of  Holland.  As  Baibourt  is  a  garrison  town, 
a  Turkish  gendarme  soon  makes  his  appearance,  and 
hangs  about  while  our  baggage  is  being  unpacked.  When 
we  go  out  to  see  the  town  he  is  our  guide,  and  in  one  of 
the  covered  bazaars,  roofed  with  sticks,  tattered  patches 
of  awning,  cobwebs,  and  filthy  straw  mats,  we  come  to 
a  cafe  with  a  ram -shackle  wooden  gallery,  which  we 
reach  by  means  of  a  tottering  stairway.  From  this 
elevated  station  we  look  down  on  the  market-place  and 
the  moving  crowd  through  a  haze  of  dust  and  flying 
straw,  which  partially  veils  the  view  of  the  yellow  ridges 


14  VOICES  OF   THE   NIGHT 

above.  Two  more  police  officers  of  higher  rank  saunter 
in  and  partake  of  our  coffee  and  cigarettes.  They  ask 
many  questions  of  our  dragoman,  and  looking  at  our  hand- 
cameras,  insinuate,  but  with  perfect  courtesy,  that  these 
forbidden  weapons  are  not  to  be  used  here.  This  official 
warning  comes  too  late,  however,  for  the  gallery  and  the 
two  officers  themselves  already  figure  among  our  souve- 
nirs of  Baibourt.  Here  let  me  add  that  we  never  had 
reason  to  complain  of  rudeness  on  the  part  of  these  func- 
tionaries, but  they  gave  us  a  deal  of  trouble,  nevertheless. 
I  was  not  prepossessed  by  our  quarters  for  the  night  at 
the  khan,  and  ordered  my  sleeping-tent  to  be  hung  up  on 
the  trembling  wooden  balcony  which  jutted  over  the  sta- 
ble door.  Half  the  town  assembled  in  the  street  below 
to  look  up  at  my  preparations  for  retirement.  My  camp- 
bed  was  first  taken  inside  and  unfolded,  and  as  the  candle 
within  made  a  huge  transparency  of  the  tent,  the  elabo- 
rate gymnastics  shadowed  upon  the  walls  must  have  been 
vastly  entertaining,  judging  from  the  deep  murmurs  and 
grunts  of  satisfaction.  The  night  was  far  from  peaceful, 
however.  The  noise  and  uproar  of  the  bazaar  continued 
till  a  late  hour ;  two  fleas  had  found  an  entrance  some- 
where, and  Keating's  powder  had  no  terrors  for  them. 
The  effluvium  of  the  stable  below  rose  through  the  cracks 
in  the  floor ;  an  injured  puppy  lamented  plaintively  all 
through  the  night,  and  there  were  catcalls,  and  occasion- 
ally the  ear-piercing  howls  of  a  pack  of  street  dogs  hunt- 
ing down  an  intruder  to  the  death.  Rising  above  all,  the 
long-drawn  groans  and  shrill  shrieks  of  distant  ox-carts. 
When  my  candle  was  extinguished  I  could  see  that  my 
neighbor,  a  shop-keeper  opposite,  was  also  a  sufferer  from 
insomnia  ;  he  had  lit  his  lamp,  and  crooned  to  himself 
with  the  wailing  cadences  of  his  race.  When  the  morn- 
ing light  appeared  we  felt  that  many  more  such  nights 


SULPHUR  SPRINGS  15 

would  be  sorely  trying,  and  we  inwardly  resolved  to 
keep  to  the  tent  and  the  open  country  in  future,  come 
what  might.  The  debatable  border-land  of  Kurdistan  is 
still  some  days  distant. 

Jl'tdja,  July  31st. — A  straight  and  dusty  road  over  a 
plain  leads  to  this  village,  which  is  famous  for  its  warm 
sulphur  springs,  with  bathing  establishments,  frequented 
by  the  upper  ten  of  Erzeroura.  These  springs  ooze  from 
the  ground  and  spread  out  into  marshy  pools  in  the  centre 
of  the  village.  Erzeroum  is  visible  high  up  on  the  flank 
of  a  range  of  mountains,  a  white  speck  near  the  patches 
of  snow. 

Erzeroum,  August  1st. — The  gateway  of  this  fortified 
stronghold  is  protected  by  a  moat  and  drawbridge,  and 
earth-works  apparently  of  modern  construction.  There 
are  sentries  on  the  ramparts  above.  The  first  impression 
of  the  town  is  not  seductive.  Low  stone  huts,  with  their 
supply  of  winter  fuel — cakes  of  dried  dung — stacked  in 
black  pyramids  about  the  doors,  uneven  paths  where  the 
dust  lies  deep,  or  rises  in  clouds  to  mingle  with  the  pun- 
gent smoke  of  the  morning  lires.  Far  above,  on  our 
right  as  we  enter,  rises  a  desolate  range  of  moutains,  and 
the  rare  patches  of  snow  descend  nearly  to  the  level  of 
the  town.  On  the  left,  to  the  eastward,  rises  a  hill  with 
a  battery  on  its  summit,  which  commands  the  ajiproaches 
on  all  sides.  As  we  draw  near  to  the  heart  of  the  city 
we  pass  the  place  of  slaughter,  environed  by  gory  mire, 
where  the  carcasses  of  slain  animals  are  suspended  on 
poles  and  scaffoldings.  There  are  many  well -stocked 
European  shops  with  supplies  of  all  kinds,  and  the  ba- 
zaars where  old  saddlery,  weapons,  and  rugs  are  sokl  are 
uncommonly  rich  in  bric-a-brac,  which  is  not  for  us.  how- 
ever, with  our  long  route  to  the  Persian  Gulf  stretching 
before  us.     We  are  taken  to  a  hifjh   four-storietl   build- 


16  PERSIAN   RED-TAPE 

ing,  with  a  billiard-room  and  cafe  under  Persian  manage- 
ment at  the  top.  The  place  is  not  repulsive  outwardly, 
but  it  proves  to  be  a  noisome  den  within,  and  there  is 
no  other  shelter  available  at  present.  We  had  a  brief 
interview  Avith  the  chief  of  the  custom-house,  who  al- 
lowed us,  under  protest,  to  have  our  luggage  unloaded 
at  the  hotel.  He  seems  to  have  repented  his  leniency, 
however,  and  soon  sends  a  subordinate  after  us,  who  in- 
sists upon  prying  into  our  boxes,  but  with  a  little  diplo- 
macy he  is  persuaded  to  refrain. 

Upon  arriving  at  any  town,  the  first  step  is  always 
to  have  our  passports  examined,  and  as  the  consul  is 
absent,  his  dragoman  undertakes  to  make  the  necessary 
arrangements.  He  at  once  finds  something  wrong  in  our 
dragoman's  passport,  which  gives  him  permission  to  go 
as  far  as  Yan  only,  but  not  to  cross  the  frontier  into 
Persia.  Now  Van  is  not  on  our  route,  but  far  to  the 
southward.  This  passport  was  made  out  at  Constanti- 
nople under  consular  supervision,  and  the  Consul -General 
had  been  most  carefully  informed  as  to  our  projected 
route.  It  seems  that  all  Armenians  are  regarded  with 
suspicion  just  now  on  account  of  a  plot  against  the  Turkish 
authority,  recently  discovered,  in  which  many  of  their 
leading  men  were  implicated.  On  the  next  morning  the 
consular  dragoman,  in  order  to  explain  the  state  of  af- 
fairs, visited  the  Yali,  or  military  governor,  who,  being 
an  orthodox  Turk  of  the  old  school,  was  rather  a  diffi- 
cult man  to  deal  with.  In  the  afternoon  we  were  told 
that  matters  Avere  going  on  well,  and  that  the  Vali  had 
promised  his  signature. 

August  '2d. — In  the  course  of  our  rambles  about  the 
town  this  morning  we  visited  the  palace  of  the  governor, 
a  large  yellow- washed  barrack  without  interest,  and 
called  upon  the  chief  of  police,  a  tall  soldierly  man,  who 


LIMITED  HOSPITALITY 


17 


received  us  with  frank  cordiality,  and  was  lavishly  hospit- 
able to  the  extent  of  cigarettes  and  coffee. 

Erzeroum  was  once  a  Persian  capital,  and  there  are  still 
some  remains  of  that  epoch :  a  mosque  with  two  slender 
minarets  on  either  side  of  a  narrow  pointed  arch  ;  the 
entire  structure,  although  ruinous,  is  rich  with  carved 
stone-work  and  brilliant  tiles ;  and  near  it  stands  a  ba- 
silica-like building  rather  Byzantine  in  character,  as  well 
as  the  remains  of  an  old  fortress  and  citadel.  There  is 
a  large  Persian  quarter,  where  the  people   sit  on  little 


camel's  head  Axn  trappings 


18  OFFICIAL   VACILLATION 

stools  along  the  shady  side  of  the  street,  with  their  glass 
cups  of  tea  and  bubbling  kalyans. 

This  is  the  first  day  of  the  great  annual  festival  of 
Hassan  and  Houssein,  which  is  honored  throughout  all 
Mussulman  Asia.  A  procession  with  banners,  and  flagel- 
lants smiting  their  bared  breasts,  passes  the  hotel.  In 
the  afternoon  the  consular  dragoman  appears  with  an 
air  of  hopeless  dejection,  and  says  that  the  Yali,  at  the 
last  moment,  had  refused  to  indorse  our  dragoman's  pass- 
port, and  that  our  new  friend  the  chief  of  police,  who  had 
discussed  our  projects  with  us  in  his  lame  but  sym- 
pathetic French,  had  advised  him  not  to  sign  that  docu- 
ment. The  prospects  of  getting  away  from  Erzeroum 
now  began  to  look  desperate.  It  Avould  be  next  to  im- 
possible to  find  another  interpreter,  or  indeed  any  sort 
of  a  substitute.  Our  unhappy  dragoman,  who  had  been 
much  depressed  since  his  arrival,  now  showed  unmistak- 
able signs  of  bodily  fear,  and  begged  us  tearfully  not  to 
desert  him.  Even  should  he  succeed  in  crossing  the 
frontier  with  us,  he  dared  not  return  alone  without  his 
passport,  and  would  be  Miable  to  arrest  by  any  Turkish 
subaltern,  with  a  prospect  of  imprisonment  and  the  chain- 
gang.  But  one  alternative  seemed  open  to  us,  one  last 
chance.  We  concluded  to  demand  an  interview  of  the 
Vali,  through  the  authority  of  the  consulate  in  the  person 
of  its  dragoman,  and  should  he  grant  us  an  audience,  to 
make  the  most  of  our  slight  official  position,  and  insist  on 
our  dragoman's  passport  in  order  that  we  might  arrive  at 
Teheran,  where  we  were  expected  by  the  legation  at  a 
certain  date.  Our  official  go-between  shook  his  head 
dubiously  over  this  proposition,  but  promised  to  do  his 
best,  with  the  air  of  one  who  is  about  to  stake  his  all  on 
a  forlorn  hope.  During  the  interval  of  suspense  we  visit 
the  Persian  consul,  to  have  our  papers  put  in  order  for 


CHEERFUL   PKOSPECTS  19 

Persia,  and  to  draw  up  a  contract  with  the  chavadars," 
whom  we  expect  to  engage  for  the  journey  to  Tabreez. 
A  young  Greek  merchant,  to  whom  we  bring  letters  of 
introduction,  receives  us  in  a  handsomely  decorated  tent 
behind  his  house.  At  the  breakfast  which  follows  tlie 
French  consul  is  present,  and  a  few  other  Europeans  drop 
in.  Nothing  can  exceed  their  kindly  and  sympathetic 
interest  in  our  projects,  but  it  is  evident  that  they  regard 
our  plan  of  reaching  Persia  by  this  route  as  an  almost 
hopeless  wild-goose  chase.  A  company  of  Persians  who 
came  with  us  from  Trebizond  in  an  araba  intend  Sfoins: 
on  to  Tabreez  with  the  same  vehicle  when  we  are  ready 
to  start.  But  our  new  friends  are  quite  sure  that  the 
road  will  shrink  to  a  mere  goat-path  beyond  Erzeroum, 
and  advise  us  to  buy  pack-horses  or  mules.  Then  some 
one  suggests  Kurds  and  brigands,  and  in  tiie  vivid  remi- 
niscences which  follow  we  and  our  plans  are  almost  for- 
gotten. "We  both  felt  rather  despondent  when  we  took 
leave  of  our  kind  entertainers,  but  were  more  than  ever 
anxious  to  get  away  from  Erzeroum.  It  was  impossil)le 
to  work  here,  as  the  Yali  had  sent  a  message  forbidding 
us  to  sketch  or  pliotograph  on  this  side  of  the  border. 
I  could  not  leave  the  house  for  a  moment  without  beins: 
followed  by  spies,  but  their  occupation  was  no  sinecure,  as 
they  were  obliged  to  keep  me  in  sight,  which  entailed 
endless  marching  and  countermarching  for  no  apparent 
object.  The  hotel  where  we  had  encamped  was  filthy 
beyond  description,  but  the  upper  floor,  monopolized 
by  the  Persian  billiard -room  and  tea -counters,  seemed 
clean  by  comparison.  I  had  amused  myself  by  making  a 
sketch  of  the  interior,  and  contemplated  another  fi-om  the 


*The  man  wlio  1ms  chiirsre  of  the  horse.-,  and  is  usually  part  owner  of 
them,  is  called  the  'chavadur." 


20  AN  IRON-CLAD  CONDITION 

balcony,  which  overlooked  the  low  roofs  of  the  town  and 
the  hill  beyond  with  its  battery.  A  friendly  Persian  who 
sat  smoking  in  the  doorway  warned  me  that  we  were 
being  watched  from  below. 

August  ^d. — His  Excellency  has  condescended  to  re- 
ceive us.  We  are  conducted  to  a  long  room  where  he  is 
seated,  cross-legged,  upon  a  divan  at  the  opposite  end. 
He  wears  a  short  gray  beard,  and  is  costumed  in  Avhite 
drill,  patent-leather  boots,  and  a  fez.  On  his  right  are 
several  officers  occupying  a  row  of  chairs  against  the 
wall.  The  trial  of  this  important  case  takes  up  at  least 
an  hour.  Our  advocate,  the  dragoman  of  the  consulate, 
seems  to  have  the  gift  of  persuasive  eloquence,  judging 
from  the  impassioned  fervor  of  his  opening  speech,  inter- 
rupted at  intervals  by  the  sharp  cross-questioning  of  the 
Yali.  At  last  we  are  told  that  our  dragoman,  Artemis, 
must  present  a  request  for  a  new  passport  in  the  form  of 
a  petition,  which  he  (the  Vali)  would  sign.  As  a  con- 
dition, we  must  promise  to  make  no  sketches,  photo- 
graphs, or  notes  on  this  side  of  the  boundary,  and  the 
zapti,  or  mounted  gendarme,  who  is  deputed  to  accompany 
us  to  the  next  etaj)e,  has  orders  to  keep  an  eye  on  our 
movements,  and  to  delegate  his  authority  to  the  officer 
who  relieves  him.  All  these  pompous  restrictions  amount 
to  nothing,  and  once  out  of  sight  of  the  town  we  end  by 
doing  exactly  as  we  please. 

August  Jf-th. — It  was  with  no  little  sense  of  relief  that 
we  rode  out  from  the  gates  of  Erzeroum  into  the  open 
country,  but  with  a  haunting  fear  that  the  Yali  might 
suddenly  repent  of  his  generosity. 

A  few  hours'  ride  takes  us  to  the  foot  of  a  bold  prom- 
ontory of  rock,  capped  by  the  ruins  of  another  Byzantine 
fortress.  The  town,  or  rather  large  village,  is  built  along 
the  side.     Our  tent  is  pitched  near  the  base,  and  on  the 


22  PICTURESQUE   GROUPS 

edge  of  an  emerald-green  meadow,  with  many  springs  and 
pools  of  water.  The  Persian  araba  empties  its  contents 
near  us.  Our  friends  begin  their  devotions  early  the 
next  morning,  as  it  is  the  most  important  day  of  the 
Moharrem.  Before  sunrise  they  spread  their  prayer- 
carpets  and  scarlet  coverlets  on  the  dewy  turf.  The 
meadow  is  dotted  with  kneeling  and  standing  groups. 
Their  sombre  kaftans  and  tall  black  caps  of  Astrakhan  are 
sharply  relieved  against  the  distant  ridges  now  lighted  up 
with  the  first  flush  of  sunrise.  Other  groups  are  busy 
over  the  samovars  and  camp-fires,  from  which  the  smoke 
ascends  in  spirals,  and  the  animals  are  led  to  water  or 
grouped  around  the  tented  arabas.  The  Persians  want 
to  take  a  day's  rest  in  honor  of  their  holiday,  but  with 
the  Erzeroum  experience  fresh  in  our  minds,  we  are  anx- 
ious to  push  on,  and,  after  a  few  hours'  delay  as  a  con- 
cession to  our  friends,  we  begin  the  day's  march,  and  the 
other  araba  follows  reluctantly  in  our  wake. 

Deli-Baba,  August  10th. — The  officer  on  duty  who 
comes  to  the  tent  to  inspect  our  papers  is  accompanied 
by  a  species  of  Cossack  whom  we  had  seen  ])rowling 
about.  He  is  clad  in  a  long-skirted  gray  frock  crossed 
by  cartridge-belts,  and  a  tall  gray  lamb's-wool  cap,  which, 
with  his  blond  beard,  gives  him  a  decidedly  Russian 
appearance.  But  he  proves  to  be  in  the  Turkish  service. 
We  are  within  a  few  hours  of  the  Georgian  frontier,  and 
these  fellows  wear  anything  indiscriminately  by  Avay  of 
uniform. 

August  11th. — We  are  early  in  our  saddles,  as  we  have 
been  advised  to  make  all  haste  over  the  Taya  Pass, 
and  not  to  spend  the  night  in  the  village  half-wa}',  near 
the  summit.  Five  men  were  killed  there  a  fortnight  afjo, 
our  guard  tells  us,  the  same  gray-skirted  Geoi'gian  who 
came  to  the  tent  last  night,  and  he  has  been  promised 


KUUDISII    CHARACTERS  28 

an  extra  fee  to  spur  on  the  drivers  of  the  arabas.  One 
soon  learns  to  take  these  "tales  of  the  border"  with  a 
liberal  allowance  of  salt  and  a  certain  amount  of  fatalistic 
resignation,  yet  there  is  substantial  if  not  reassuring  evi- 
dence that  they  have  some  foundation  of  truth.  The  road 
ascends  abruptly  into  a  labyrinth  of  deep  and  sombre 
ravines,  crossing  again  and  again  the  same  torrent,  over- 
shadowed by  echoing  walls  of  black  rock.  At  noon  Ave 
gallop  into  a  high  and  treeless  valley,  and  halt  in  a  Kurd- 
ish villaffe  consistino;  of  a  few  cave-dwelliiio-s  built  like 
dens  in  a  rocky  hill-side,  each  with  its  black  pyramid  of 
winter  fuel  at  the  entrance.  As  there  is  neither  shade 
nor  shelter  we  seat  ourselves  along  a  stone  wall  in  the  full 
glare  of  the  sun.  In  spite  of  the  elevation  the  heat  is 
intense.  The  Kurds  who  surround  us  are  handsome 
stalwart  fellows,  with  their  girdles  well  furnished  with 
silver  -  mounted  pistols  and  swords,  and  they  show  a 
friendly  and  professional  interest  in  our  heavy  battery 
of  Winchesters  and  Smith  &  AVesson  small -arms.  One 
scowling  beetle-browed  giant  might  figure  as  a  stage  cap- 
tain of  the  ''  Forty  Thieves."  Beyond  this  village  the 
ascent  of  the  Taya  Pass  begins,  which  is  approximately 
eight  or  nine  thousand  feet  above  the  Black  Sea.  The 
higher  slopes  above  us  lose  much  of  their  grandeur  as  we 
api)roach  them,  and  partake  of  the  character  of  elevated 
Swiss  pasture  -  lands,  pierced  here  and  there  by  sharp 
ridges  of  rock,  but  there  are  no  patches  of  snow  near  us, 
and  only  a  few  are  visible  on  the  more  distant  summits. 
A  thunder-storm  which  had  been  slowlv  s;atherin<>:  breaks 
over  us  as  the  wajjons  beffin  the  ascent,  and  the  dust 
which  lay  deep  on  the  road  becomes  a  gluey  ])aste.  The 
four  horses  of  our  araba  strujifo-le  franticallv  under  lasii 
and  kicks,  but  are  unable  to  move  the  cart ;  one  horse  is 
entirelv  useless.     The  Persian  araba,  which  has  the  better 


24  A  POSITION   OF  DANGER 

team,  mounts  slowly  but  surely  upward.  Ishmael,  the 
driver,  seeing  our  difficulty,  halts  a  few  hundred  j^ards 
above  us,  and  unhitching  his  best  horse,  leads  him  down 
and  attaches  him  to  our  wagon,  which  is  then  dragged  up 
to  the  level  of  his  own.  This  manoeuvre  is  repeated  until 
we  reach  the  summit  of  the  pass,  just  before  twilight. 
But  the  events  of  the  day  are  not  yet  over.  Although 
the  rain  has  ceased,  the  road  is  in  a  worse  condition  than 
ever,  and  the  descent,  of  unparalleled  steepness,  ends  in  a 
gulley.  Twilight  is  deepening,  and  our  halting-place  is 
far  below  us.  At  the  bottom  of  the  first  hill  the  road  has 
been  washed  away,  and  the  ravine  which  cuts  it  in  two  has 
banks  six  feet  in  height.  Down  the  first  bank  the  horses 
plunge  and  slide,  while  the  men  hang  on  to  the  back  of 
the  araba,  which  is  almost  perpendicular.  The  foremost 
araba  capsized,  but  it  has  been  righted  again  and  the  bag- 
gage replaced.  The  extra  horse  is  again  attached  to  our 
cart,  while  all  hands  take  hold  of  the  wheels.  Frenzied 
by  the  wild  yells  and  the  cracking  of  whips,  the  five  horses 
leap  and  struggle  up  the  opposite  bank.  Here  the  outer 
edge  of  the  road  has  been  undermined  by  the  torrent  and 
washed  away.  All  the  men  in  the  Persian  araba  get  out, 
and  with  armfuls  of  stones  and  bowlders  fall  to  and  piece 
out  the  road.  Miracles  of  apparently  reckless  driving 
were  performed,  while  we  waited  breathlessly,  expecting 
the  final  catastrophe,  which  seemed  inevitable.  The  pros- 
pect of  being  wrecked  with  all  our  baggage  and  valuables 
in  the  wildest  part  of  the  Kurdish  hills  was  imminent 
enough  to  disturb  the  resigned  fatalism  of  a  Mussulman. 
There  are  moments  when  one  may  reiterate  "Kismet"  and 
"  Imshallah,"  but  these  talismauic  words  no  longer  pro- 
duce the  desired  tranquillity  of  mind.  The  dramatic  in- 
terest of  the  situation  quite  equalled  that  of  a  cyclone  at 
sea.     As  we  descend  we  enjoy  a  brief  interval  of  peace. 


t.V-*I^  ^     ^^^^  Y 


ENTERING    TAYA    PASS 


26  AMONG  THE   MOUNTAINEERS 

We  have  leisure  to  look  at  the  landscape,  which  seems 
far  richer  and  more  luxuriant  than  any  we  have  seen 
since  leaving  the  valleys  near  Trebizond.  In  the  hollows 
of  the  hills  there  are  marshy  pools  surrounded  by  tall 
reeds,  thickets  of  tangled  vines,  and  great  clusters  of  flow- 
ering shrubs  varied  and  brilliant  in  color.  The  difficulties 
of  the  road  diminish,  until  at  last  we  reach  the  stony  chan- 
nel of  a  mountain  stream,  which  is  as  a  macadamized  road 
compared  with  the  route  above.  Down  this  natural  high- 
way we  drive  to  our  destination,  and  in  the  gathering 
darkness  come  suddenly  into  a  Kurdish  village.  A  horse- 
fair  is  being  held  in  the  market-place,  which  is  crowded 
w4th  mountaineers.  Our  camping-ground  is  on  the  edge 
of  a  brawling  stream  beyond  the  village,  in  a  sinister  hol- 
low surrounded  by  desolate  bowlder-strewn  heights.  As 
Child  suggested,  it  seemed  a  fitting  background  for  rob- 
bery and  assassination.  Artemis,  shaking  with  chills  and 
fever,  begs  to  be  allowed  to  sleep  in  the  chief's  house  in 
the  village  behind,  so  that  he  may  be  under  cover.  We 
are  thus  left  without  guide  or  interpreter,  but  our  ener- 
getic cook,  Tato§,*  with  whom  we  could  only  communi- 
cate by  signs  and  a  sort  of  Yolapiik  composed  of  frag- 
ments of  Turkish,  English,  and  French,  is  a  host  in  him- 
self, and  soon  settles  us  comfortably  in  our  tent.  He 
engages  the  chief  of  the  village  to  watch  at  our  tent  door, 
and  the  Persian  caravan  encamps  near  by.  Our  minds  are 
filled  with  the  exciting  events  of  the  day,  but,  lulled  by 
the  monotonous  noise  of  the  water,  we  are  just  dropping 
off  to  sleep  when  a  long  low  whistle  like  a  curlew's  call 
acts  like  a  cold  douche  on  our  overstrained  nerves.  We 
listen  intently.    The  call  is  answered  after  a  short  interval 


*  Tatos  had  been  engaged  at  Erzeroum  to  replace  his  incapable  prede- 
cessor. 


KURDS  ON   GUARD 


27 


by  a  similar  whistle  from  the  rocky  ridge  which  liems  us 
in,  and  this  is  echoed  again  from  another  crag  still  farther 
off.  There  is  no  cause  for  apprehension,  however,  as  it 
proves  to  be  only  the  signal  of  the  chief  to  the  watchers 
posted  on  the  surrounding  hills.  But  all  through  the 
night  in  our  waking  moments  we  are  vaguely  conscious 
of  his  warning  whistle  at  regular  intervals,  followed  by 
gradually  attenuated  responses.  In  this  strange  and  for- 
bidding landscape,  heard  above  the  noise  of  the  torrent,  it 
produced  a  singularly  weird  and  uncanny  impression. 
Kizildize,  August  12th  —  Mount  Ararat. — Since  day- 


mm^ 


lURIGATIOX    CANAL    AND    AUMEMAN    CJIRI, 


MOUNT  ARARAT 


break  we  have  been  slow- 
ly mounting  by  long  zig- 
zags a  pass  which  seems 
to  rival  in  height  the 
Taya  Pass,  which  we  left 
behind  us  but  yesterday. 
Our  map  gives  it  2350 
metres  only.  Tatos  had 
taken  my  horse,  while  I  climbed  by  the  short-cuts,  leaving 
the  caravan  toiling  slowly  on  far  below.  From  the  high- 
est point  another  gorge  opens  below  and  beyond  us,  and 
all  at  once  the  mighty  mass  of  Ararat  rises  straight  from 
the  plain,  a  dazzling  snow-capped  cone,  uplifted  by  long 
purple  slopes,  flecked  with  the  shadows  of  high -sailing 
summer  clouds.  By  noon  we  are  down  in  the  long  valley 
which  follows  the  southwestern  slope  of  the  great  peak. 
Here  we  look  for  a  good  halting-place  with  water,  but  can 
find  no  trace  of  a  spring.  The  governor  of  some  little 
province,  with  his  servant,  had  joined  us  on  the  road. 
Both  are  armed,  and  the  governor  wears  one  of  the  high- 
peaked  white  hoods  in  vogue  among  travelling  Ottoman 


AN  ALARM  29 

officers  as  a  protection  against  the  glare.  We  were  per- 
suaded to  invest  in  these  appendages  while  at  Erzeroum, 
and  Artemis  had  ordered  a  hoop  to  be  inserted  in  the 
front  of  each  hood.  His  appearance  was  delightfully  gro- 
tesque, with  his  short  and  dumpy  figure  surmounted  by 
this  huge  and  flapping  edifice  of  white  linen,  not  unlike 
a  New"  England  Shaker  bonnet. 

We  leave  the  caravan  behind,  and,  accompanied  by  the 
zapti  and  the  governor,  who  is  finely  mounted  on  a  pacing 
Arab,  ride  on  in  quest  of  water.  The  governor  holds  a 
hasty  conference  with  the  zapti,  who  dashes  suddenly  up 
a  hill-side  and  peers  about  from  the  summit.  Wheeling 
quickly,  he  tears  downhill,  and  as  he  flies  past,  my  horse 
bolts  and  follows  him.  Wild  yells  and  calls  are  heard 
from  the  direction  in  which  we  last  saw  the  caravan.  The 
zapti  slips  a  cartridge  into  his  Martini,  and  we  all  gallop 
on  in  the  direction  of  the  cries,  stimulated  by  the  excite- 
ment of  our  horses  and  the  exhilaration  of  the  moment. 
The  mystery  is  cleared  up  when  we  find  the  wagons  li id- 
den  in  a  fold  of  the  volcanic  hills.  The  guard  had  seen  a 
party  of  five  armed  horsemen  observing  us  from  a  hill-top, 
and  the  governor  considered  the  neighborhood  unsafe. 
Both  were  anxious  to  press  on  to  the  last  frontier  station, 
where  w^e  w^ere  to  pass  the  night.  Meanwhile  our  men 
had  found  a  spring,  and  were  watering  the  horses.  The 
yells  which  had  so  alarmed  the  guard  were  intended  only 
to  call  us  back.  There  is  no  shelter,  and  although  the 
noonday  sunshine  is  slightly  veiled  by  haze,  the  heat  is  in- 
tense. We  lie  down  in  a  hollow  like  a  rifte-pit,  and  eat  a 
hasty  but  voracious  lunch.  We  are  soon  mounted  again, 
and  follow  in  a  compact  squad  behind  the  wagons  througli 
a  strange  and  ever-changing  landscape,  past  tawny  ledges 
of  rock  and  clumps  of  low  thorn  -  trees,  crossing  foi-ds 
where  broad  sheets  of  white  pebbles  frame  in  the  narrow 


30  EXPORT  DUTIES 

water  channels,  reflecting  the  indigo-blue  of  the  zenith. 
The  long,  grand  slopes  of  Ararat,  leading  up  to  its  dazzling 
cone  of  snow,  are  always  on  our  left,  and  the  lesser  sum- 
mit, bare  of  snow,  now  comes  into  view.  Here  we  have  a 
little  difference  with  the  governor,  who  would  like  to  strike 
across  to  Ba3'^azid,  and  take  our  zapti  with  him.  Before 
sundown  we  reach  the  station,  a  fortified  camp  with  a 
large  custom-house.  Here  we  find  a  cordon  sanitaire, 
and  caravans  from  Persia  or  from  the  Russian  dominions 
are  subjected  to  a  quarantine  of  five  days.  Great  camel 
trains  dot  the  plain  on  the  right  with  their  encampments. 
The  custom-house  enclosure  is  like  a  large  caravansary, 
filled  with  a  motley  crowd  of  Kurds,  Circassians,  and  Per- 
sians. Here  our  luggage  is  again  overhauled,  and  the 
officials  want  to  have  it  all  unloaded,  but  they  show  them- 
selves amenable  to  reason,  and  examine  it  in  the  araba. 
This  function  being  over,  we  drive  on  to  our  camping- 
ground,  a  narrow  sloping  plain  between  two  3"ellow  and 
rocky  hills.  Here  a  new  cause  of  annoyance  interferes 
with  our  repose,  and  postpones  the  hour  of  "  Xirvana." 
We  had  already  advanced  more  money  for  the  araba  and 
horses  than  we  had  engaged  to  do  by  the  contract,  as  the 
men  swore  that  they  had  spent  their  last  piastre  in  buying 
fodder  for  the  animals.  At  this  frontier  station  they  were 
obliged  to  pay  an  export,  or  rather  drawback,  duty  for  the 
wagon  and  horses  of  several  Turkish  liras,  or  pounds,  to 
the  custom-house.  This  money  would  be  refunded  when 
they  presented  the  receipt  on  the  return  trip.  There  was 
but  one  course  open  to  us — to  pay  down  the  money  to  the 
officers  and  get  the  drivers'  stamped  receipt.  Our  pass- 
ports were  again  vised,  for  the  last  time  in  the  Sultan's 
dominions.  Our  camp  is  well  guarded  to-night.  The 
Kurdish  chief  of  the  district,  bearing  on  his  black  Astra- 
khan cap  a  gilded  badge  with  the  lion  and  the  sun  of  the 


THE   APPROACH    TO   PERSIA 


31 


Persian  Shah,  assures  us  that  "  he  is  responsible  for  our 
safety."  lie  is  a  tall,  white-bearded,  and  soldierly  old 
man,  with  the  bearing  of  a  prophet  or  a  Schamyl,  and  we 
sleep  with  a  feeling  of  perfect  security. 

Oi'cidjik,  August  IJith. — To-day  we  are  well  over  the 
border.  In  spite  of  the  warnings  of  our  European  friends. 
we  have  slept  peacefully  during  the  greater  part  of  our 
journey  in  our  tent,  unmolested  by  brigands.  Although 
most  of  the  Europeans  whom  we  had  met  thus  far  seemed 
to  stand  in  awe  of  the  Kurds,  we  left  their  country  with 
the  impression  that  they 
were  not  bad  fellows. 

There  are  but  a  few  days 
more  of  the  mountains,  and 
then  we  shall  begin  to  miss 
tluit  element  of  uncertainty 
which  added  a  little  flavor  to 
the  monotony  of  the  dusty 
road,  and  made  us  appreci- 
ate more  keenl  v  the  value  of 
life.  Another  source  of  joy 
for  the  moment  is  the  fact 
that  we  no  longer  run  the 
risk  of  being  detained  by 
Turkish  officials.  We  are 
now  approaching  Khoi,  the 
first  Persian  town  of  any 
size ;  but  the  road  has  not 
begun  to  improve,  as  we  ex- 
pected.    Here  it  is  a  mere 

track,  easv  enou":h  to  follow  where  it  lies  alontr  a  breezv 
ridge  of  high  pasture-land,  but  dangerous  again  when  it 
plunges  down  into  the  dej)tiis  of  deej)  gullies  beset  with  all 
manner  of  obstacles.     A  young  Kurdish  shepherd  joins  us 


KIKDISU    SllKPHEKn 


32  A  SAMPLE   OF   WEATHER 

on  the  road,  and  plays  bucolic  airs  on  a  reed  pipe.  The 
prospect  of  gaining  a  half-kran  *  by  posjng  as  a  model  in- 
duces him  to  follow  us  to  our  halting-place  at  noon.  Here 
our  men  conclude  to  purchase  another  horse,  and  the  few 
half-mairaed  and  spavined  animals  which  the  village  can 
show  are  brought  forth.  After  much  heated  discussion 
they  select  a  horse,  for  which  they  pay  about  eight  dollars 
(in  our  currency).  Knowing  that  it  is  useless  to  apply  to 
us  for  more  money,  they  borrow  the  amount  of  Ishmael, 
the  driver  of  the  Persian  cart.  In  the  afternoon  we  begin 
another  interminable  descent,  where  the  ample  mule-track, 
which  w^as  quite  sufficient  for  the  arabas,  shrinks  to  an  un- 
certain goat-path.  Amid  towers  of  dust,  and  with  much 
rattling  and  shaking,  we  descend  to  the  first  Persian  village. 
Here  the  poplars  begin ;  there  are  melon  patches,  and 
actual  houses  of  mud,  with  windows  and  wooden  lattices. 
The  sky  is  overcast,  and  the  wind,  which  shakes  the  tent 
w^alls,  is  raw  and  chilly,  although  it  is  the  middle  of 
August. 

August  15th. — Still  another  pass,  with  long  winding 
defiles.  The  Persian  "  trooper  "  w^ho  replaces  our  Turkish 
escort  is  a  lamentable,  dejected  creature,  clad  in  rags, 
and  mounted  on  a  donkey.  He  rides  sadly  behind  my 
companion,  w^ho,  with  his  great  height  and  bulk,  girt 
about  with  arms,  and  his  bronzed  face,  has  the  air  of  a 
brigand.  Our  protector,  as  he  rides  between  the  pro- 
tected, looks  like  a  malefactor  in  custody.  At  noon  we 
are  caught  in  a  thunder-storm — a  deluge  in  which,  not- 
withstanding water-proofs,  we  are  well  drenched. 

As  w^e  descend  the  pass  the  hot  sun  comes  out,  the 
clouds  roll  back,  and  disclose  far  below  us  a  long  and 


*  Kran,  the  Persian  coin  representing  the  nominal  value  of  a  franc. 
It  is  worth  much  less  in  reality,  owing  to  the  amount  of  alloy. 


t  i~*<a. 


PKKSIAN    GUARD 


fertile  valley.  A  blue  lake  gleams  in  the  middle  of  the 
valley,  and  we  have  a  premonition  that  we  shall  have  to 
cross  it.  The  road  is  heavy  with  mud,  and  our  progi*ess 
desjjerately  slow.  At  last  we  come  to  a  stand-still  on  the 
heigiits  above  a  swollen  river.  After  some  unsuccessful 
attempts  to  reach  the  other  side,  we  wait  a  little  until  the 
water  has  begun  to  subside,  and  then  venture  into  the 
stream,  which  just  reaches  the  bottom  of  the  wagon. 
The  worst  is  still  before  us,  and  at  the  beginning  of  twi- 
liirht  we  reach  the  flooded  meadow  we  saw  from  the 
pass.  It  is  traversed  by  ditches  and  streams,  necessitating 
many  detours  in  order  to  reach  the  village  beyond.  Here 
the  ground  is  like  a  wet  sponge ;  there  is  no  dry  spot 
whereon  to  pitch  a  tent,  and  we  must  perforce,  wet  and 
sodden  as  we  are,  pass  the  night  in  a  mud  hut.  Artemis, 
8 


34  ACCOMMODATIONS  FOR  MAN  AND  BEAST 

chattering  with  fever,  conducts  us  to  the  house  which  he 
considers  the  best  in  the  village.  The  araba  draws  up  in 
a  sea  of  mud,  opposite  a  square  hole  in  a  mud  wall,  within 
which  there  is  a  fragrant  lake  of  yellow  mire.  On  the 
left  a  door  leads  into  a  stable,  and  in  front,  across  the 
yard,  is  the  room  which  we  are  to  occupy.  It  is  being 
swept,  while  our  baggage  is  carried  in,  piece  by  piece. 
In  order  to  reach  the  door  we  follow  along  a  slippery 
bank,  sloping  on  the  right  into  the  miry  pond,  and  bor- 
dered on  the  other  side  by  a  row  of  deep  pits.  The  room 
is  low  and  dark,  but  with  a  fairly  clean  floor,  which  is 
strangely  hot,  for  here  the  family  bread  is  baked,  and  the 
hot  air  rises  from  the  furnace  below,  through  a  round  hole 
in  the  floor.  A  door  opens  on  one  side  into  the  family  liv- 
ing-room and  bedroom  combined,  which  is  dark  and  grew- 
some,  but  well  populated.  On  the  left,  a  narrow  opening 
leads  into  the  sleepmg  quarters  of  the  four-legged  occu- 
pants of  this  Noah's  ark.  A  buffalo  pokes  his  long  head 
into  our  room,  and  leaves  but  little  space  for  us  to  circu- 
late among  our  baggage.  While  we  are  still  unpacking, 
the  cattle  come  home  from  afield,  and  file  through  our 
bedroom,  a  long  and  weary,  but  orderly  procession,  into 
the  buffalo's  apartment.  There  are  sheep  and  goats,  kids, 
a  dejected  horse,  a  cow  and  two  calves,  an  ungainly  buf- 
falo calf  and  its  mother.  As  Artemis  is  now  in  the 
throes  of  a  chill,  it  strikes  us  both  that  the  dry,  hot  air 
of  this  room  would  be  more  suitable  for  him  than  the 
stable  effluvia,  so  he  is  dosed  with  quinine  and  bundled  into 
bed  over  the  oven.  The  ridge  of  greasy  mud,  with  an 
abyss  on  each  side,  along  which  we  pick  our  uncertain  way 
to  the  stable,  recalls,  in  its  dramatic  possibilities,  the  pas- 
sage of  an  ice  cornice  on  the  "  Dent  Blanche."  In  the 
stable  there  is  certainly  more  space  and  air.  A  high  plat- 
form of  clay,  with  a  fireplace,  occupies  one  corner,  and 


CHICKENS  AND  SMALL-POX  35 

here  the  energetic  Tatos  installs  his  kitchen ;  our  camp- 
beds,  and  the  dinner -table,  covered  with  a  clean  white 
napkin,  are  placed  as  far  as  possible  from  the  horses' 
heels;  a  ver}'^  creditable  dinner  is  then  served,  beginning 
with  an  omelet  which  would  not  disgrace  the  Cafe 
Ainericain.  Regardless  of  the  squealing  and  kicking  of 
our  fighting  stallions,  we  sleep  well,  and  so  does  Artemis, 
thanks  to  our  self-sacrifice  in  giving  him  the  oven.  In 
the  morning  we  are  still  damp  and  somewhat  stiff  from 
yesterda3''s  wetting,  but  none  the  worse  for  it.  As  we 
pack  our  bags  b\^  candlelight,  a  subdued  piping  and 
clucking  comes  from  a  hole  in  the  wall  behind  my  va- 
lise; this  is  the  hen-coop,  and,  excited  by  the  artificial 
daylight  of  the  candle,  the  inmates  issue  forth,  picking 
their  way  daintily  over  our  belongings,  as  they  would 
have  done  over  our  heads  had  we  slept  there.  Our  host- 
ess, with  a  pile  of  freshly  baked  flat  loaves  of  bread, 
which  proves  to  be  the  best  we  have  yet  had,  now  comes 
in,  bearing:  her  youngest  on  one  shoulder.  The  babv's 
face  is  covered  with  suspicious  looking  pimples,  but  we 
can  do  nothing  by  way  of  medical  aid — the  case  is  too  far 
advanced — and  we  can  only  regret  that  vaccination  is  not 
compulsory  in  Persia. 

August  16th,  near  KhoL  —  We  had  been  fondly  hop- 
inir  that  our  chariot  would  meet  with  no  further  trouble, 
but  after  slowly  mounting  a  long  series  of  terraces,  anoth- 
er great  mountain  gateway  opens  below  us ;  as  we  de- 
scend we  look  down  on  a  richly  cultivated  plain,  hemmed 
in  by  still  grander  mountain  ridges,  and  in  the  centre  of 
the  plain  are  the  gardens  of  Khoi.  Down  steep  and 
rocky  slopes  the  carts  are  driven  to  the  river-bed  below. 
Here  one  of  our  friends  from  the  other  araba,  a  Pei*sian 
gentleman  of  fine  presence,  who  had  l)een  in  a  manner 
recognized  as  the  chief  of  their  compau}-,  takes  leave  of 


36  A  PERSIAN  HIGHWAY 

US,  for  his  garden,  filled  with  a  dense  growth  of  poplar 
and  apricot  trees,  skirts  the  bed  of  the  stream.  Xow  the 
other  araba,  some  distance  ahead  of  us,  breaks  down,  and 
the  valiant  Ishraael  is  in  sore  distress.  One  of  his  wheels, 
so  often  patched  and  tied  up  with  strings,  has  given  out 
at  last.  But  our  driver,  who  has  been  often  assisted  by 
Ishmael,  promises  to  send  back  one  of  our  wheels  on  a 
donkey  when  we  reach  the  village.  The  other  araba 
will  then  follow  with  our  wheel  to  the  camping-ground, 
and  in  the  morning  all  hands  will  fall  to  and  patch  up 
the  old  one  again.  Once  over  this,  the  last  of  the  passes 
before  Tabreez,  we  have  a  fresh  series  of  impediments  to 
progress,  and  we  learn  that  the  passage  of  a  Persian 
village  is  as  rich  in  thrilling  and  dramatic  episodes  as  the 
ascent  of  a  pass,  and  quite  as  much  to  be  dreaded.  As  it 
rarely  happens  that  any  wheeled  vehicle  invades  this 
region,  we  seldom  find  a  village  Avith  a  navigable  road 
traversing  it.  The  road  is  usuall}^  wide  enough  at  the 
entrance,  so  that  it  is  easy  to  get  in,  but,  alas,  how  often 
we  despair  of  getting  out !  The  mud-holes  and  quagmires 
which  diversify  the  road  on  the  outskirts  are  always 
passable  at  this  season,  but  once  inside  the  village,  the 
road  forks  and  ramifies  into  a  series  of  narrow  lanes 
between  mud-walled  gardens.  Down  the  centre  of  the 
widest  lanes  there  is  often  a  deep  and  narrow  stream 
or  ditch  bordered  by  poplars  or  willows,  and  Avith 
steep  clay  banks.  The  space  between  the  ditch  and  the 
crumbling  walls  of  dried  mud  frequently  narrows  to  a 
mere  bridle  -  path.  Then  comes  the  mauvais  quart 
(Vheure,  the  moment  of  suspense  and  peril.  The  wheels 
on  one  side  are  high  up  on  the  bank,  on  the  other  stuck 
fast  in  the  mire  of  the  ditch.  The  men  hang  on  to  the 
upper  side  of  the  cart,  while  the  driver  showers  curses 
and  blows  upon  the  horses,  which  are  kicking  and  strug- 


THE  LAST  RITES  37 

gling,  some  on  the  bank  and  some  below,  while  all  the 
village  turns  out  to  be  ''  in  at  the  death."  Veiled  women 
with  babies  and  dirty-faced  children,  turbaned  moullahs, 
and  old  men  of  fierce  and  uncompromising  aspect,  with 
shaggy  eyebrows  and  gray  beards  dyed  flaming  orange 
and  scarlet  with  henna.  More  than  once  it  seemed  as  if 
the  end  had  come,  but  somehow,  by  hook  or  crook,  we 
always  pulled  through,  to  drive  on  with  bated  breath 
until  we  reached  the  next  obstacle.  This  often  took  the 
form  of  a  narrow  bridge  with  a  hole  in  the  middle,  some- 
times half  concealed  and  made  into  a  pitfall  by  sticks  and 
straw  laid  over  it.  This  is  the  Persian  fashion  of  repair- 
ing roads. 

August  ntli. — As  we  have  met  no  travellers  or  cara- 
vans coming  from  Tabreez,  we  know  nothing  of  what  has 
been  going  on  in  Pei'sia.  There  are  already  rumors  of 
cholera  in  some  of  the  villages  which  we  have  passed 
through.  Can  it  be  that  after  leaving  Meshed,  where  it 
began,  and  spreading  northward  through  the  Russian 
provinces  to  Batoum,  it  has  again  returned  to  Persia  \ 

My  horse  shies  as  we  pass  a  road -side  fountain;  two 
men  are  washing  a  naked  corpse,  which  has  a  strangely 
bluish  tint  about  the  temples. 

Khol. — A  large  walled  city,  with  moat  and  drawbridge, 
sloping  walls  and  battlements  of  rose-tinted  mud.  AVe 
ride  down  a  shady  but  dusty  avenue  crowded  with  citi- 
zens who  are  looking  on  at  an  Armenian  religious  pro- 
cession, with  priests  and  banners.  We  halt  for  lunch  at  a 
caravansary,  just  outside  the  city  gate,  and,  climbing  up 
to  the  broad  wooden  balcony  just  over  the  entrance,  we 
find  several  of  our  Persian  fellow-travellers,  who  ai'e 
alread}'  installed.  After  a  long  resistance  we  have  at 
length  capitulated  to  the  Persian  watermelon,  and  begin 
to  believe  that  there  is  no  harm  in  him.     In  a  counti-v 


38 


CUCUMBERS    AND    MELONS 


where  the  brackish  water  is  impossible  to  drink,  the  fil- 
tered and  sweetened  juice  in  the  heart  of  a  melon  seems 
to  be  nature's  own  substitute ;  but  our  dragoman,  who  had 
become  sadly  intemperate  in  the  matter  of  melons  and 
sliced  cucumbers,  now  began  to  show  the  disastrous  re- 
sults of  his  indulgence.  His  face,  which  was  round  and 
ruddy  at  the  outset,  had  become  elongated  and  haggard, 
and  his  flabby  cheeks  hung  in  wrinkled  folds.  In  vain 
we  physicked  him  and  dosed  him  with  cholera  mixture 
and  quinine ;  we  invariably  caught  him  the  next  da}^  after 
an  indisposition  surreptitiously  devouring  forbidden  fruit. 
While  we  are  eating  on  the  balcony,  during  the  space  of 


A    niOLKliA    IXCIDKNT    NKAR    KHOI 


ON   THE   EDGE   OF  LAKE   URUMIYAII  39 

an  hour  or  two,  thirteen  bodies  are  deposited  in  the  cem- 
etery across  the  way.  Phiinly  there  must  be  something 
Vrong  about  the  sanitary  condition  of  this  place.  For  a 
short  distance  beyond  Khoi  we  follow  a  well-made  car- 
riage road  shaded  by  great  trees,  which  ends  suddenly  at 
tlie  bank  of  a  river,  and  we  then  strike  across  the  hills 
again. 

TasonidJ,  Angns-t  IStJt. — All  day  we  ride  across  a  des- 
ert plain  between  ranges  of  dark  volcanic  hills.  The  sun 
burns  fiercely,  and  a  hot  wind  blows  straight  in  our  faces, 
bringing  with  it  strange  and  nauseous  whiffs  of  sulphur 
and  heated  iron.  A  far-off  horizon  of  wind-swept  water, 
of  the  deepest  hue  of  ultramarine,  now  appears  to  the 
southward.  As  we  ride  on  and  on,  hour  after  hour, 
crossing  at  times  narrow  and  sunken  ravines  which  de- 
scend from  the  hills  on  our  left,  necessitating  long  circuits 
in  order  to  find  convenient  crossing -places,  we  approach 
the  great  salt  lake  of  Urumi3'ah.  Far-off  ranges  of  moun- 
tains appear  and  grow  nearer  in  the  amber  and  rose- 
tinted  afternoon  sky ;  be^^ond  the  blue  of  the  water, 
rocky  islets  and  abrupt  cliffs,  Avith  ragged  serrated  out- 
lines, rise  above  the  opposite  shores.  Range  beyond 
range  and  islands  of  fantastic  shape  seem  to  melt  and 
quiver  in  the  haze  of  light,  and  beyond  them  the  dai'k  blue 
of  the  ruffled  water  is  drawn  sharply  against  the  Avestern 
sky.  For  two  days  we  follow  at  a  distance,  and  at  an 
elevation  far  above  its  level,  the  winding  contours  of  this 
inland  sea,  marvellous  in  the  delicate  and  ethereal  beauty 
of  its  coloring,  strangely  impressive  in  its  sun-stecjied 
desolation.  At  noonday,  in  the  heat  haze,  its  color  seems 
to  fade  and  die  softly  away  into  neutral,  intangible  tones 
of  opal  and  pearl,  to  blaze  again  into  life  in  a  brief  gloi'v 
of  rose  and  scarlet  and  violet  at  sunset. 

As  we  left  Diza-i -Khalil,  the  villaire  where  wc  had 


40  SOME  GORGEOUS  COLOR 

passed  the  night,  I  turned  to  enjoy  a  last  ghmpse  of  the 
hike,  and  it  was  my  good -fortune  to  gaze  upon  the  most 
wonderfully  impressive  morning  sky  that  I  have  ever  be- 
held. The  dark  and  featureless  plain  in  the  foreground 
lay  under  a  cloud  shadow.  It  was  perfectly  calm,  and 
the  distant  line  of  water,  environed  by  hills,  reflected  the 
mellow  and  amber  tones  of  the  western  sky.  Long  deli- 
cate lines  and  bars  of  clouds  edged  with  light  were  pen- 
cilled with  but  slight  relief  across  the  clear  sky.  There 
was  no  patch  or  spot  of  positive  color,  but  suggestions  of 
turquoise-blue  and  pale  emerald-green  and  of  warm  rose 
seemed  to  merge  one  into  the  other,  all  enveloped  in  a 
golden  haze.  There  were  hints  of  scarlet  on  the  hills 
beyond  the  w^ater,  where  the  sun  shone  through  cloud 
rifts  of  violet  and  palest  purple  in  the  shadows,  but  the 
charm  was  in  the  tone,  the  ''  enveloppe,"  to  use  an  atelier 
phrase. 

August  20th,  nem'  Mdyun. — To-day  we  are  to  reach 
Tabreez,  which  lies  somewhere  between  the  dark  olive- 
tinted  line  of  its  surrounding  gardens,  barely  visible  at 
times  from  some  high  point  of  the  plateau.  The  last 
night  of  the  journey,  twenty-nine  days  from  Trebizond,  is 
passed  near  a  small  caravansary.  There  had  been  much 
loss  of  time  on  the  road,  and  at  twilight  there  w^as  still  no 
sign  of  the  caravansary,  although  both  drivers  protested 
that  it  was  but  t^venty  minutes  farther  on.  One  of  our  men, 
a  filthy  and  untruthful  old  reprobate,  who  had  intrigued 
at  every  village  to  raise  the  prices  of  provisions  which  we 
purchased,  and  whose  brain  was  forever  weaving  plots  to 
extract  from  us  the  balance  of  the  contract-money  before 
arriving  at  Tabreez,  had  been  taken  ill  on  the  road.  It 
was  impossible  to  ascertain  the  nature  of  his  malady. 
Some  of  the  men  believed  it  to  be  cholera,  others  the 
result  of  excessive  indulgence  in  opium.    Meanwhile  there 


idt^  tL£       '  '■ 


42  MORE  TROUBLE 

he  lay,  an  unsightly  writhing  heap  of  rags  on  our  bag- 
gage under  the  canvas  of  the  cart.  There  was  no  other 
place  to  stow  him,  and  his  compatriots  had  refused  to 
take  him  in  at  any  of  the  villages  along  the  road,  so  that 
we  could  only  hope  most  devoutly  that  his  disease  was 
not  contagious.  As  he  seemed  to  be  at  the  point  of 
death,  and  darkness  was  rapidly  coming  on,  we  gave  the 
order  to  halt  by  the  road-side.  The  Persian  araba  kept 
on,  deserting  us  for  the  first  time,  and  in  the  morning  we 
could  see  that  they  were  right :  the  caravansary  was  just 
in  sight.  An  irrigation  channel  of  running  water  passed 
the  tent.  Its  banks  were  steep  and  muddy,  and  the  water, 
decidedly  brackish  in  flavor,  Avas  neither  clear  nor  inviting, 
but  no  other  water  was  to  be  had ;  so  we  filtered  enough 
to  fill  the  samovar.  Even  filtered  and  boiled  it  was  still 
nauseous,  and  we  quenched  our  thirst  with  the  cool  juice 
of  the  melon.  We  had  reason  to  repent  of  our  intemper- 
ance before  morning,  and  were  feeling  strangely  ill  at 
ease  when  we  mounted  our  horses  at  sunrise.  Tabreez 
was  but  two  hours  farther  on.  We  forded  a  river  crossed 
by  a  bridge  which  was  unsafe  for  the  araba,  and  were 
soon  among  the  outlying  villages  and  gardens.  From 
this  point  the  custom  -  house  is  an  hour  farther  on,  and 
when  we  halt  in  front  of  it  the  officials  come  out  and 
insist  that  the  araba  shall  be  driven  into  the  court-yard. 
This  we  are  inclined  to  oppose,  but  Artemis,  as  usual, 
fails  to  show  the  necessary  decision,  and  while  we  are 
still  discussing  the  matter  the  driver  whips  up  his  horses 
and  drives  through  the  gate.  Once  inside,  we  are  in- 
formed that  it  is  Friday,  that  the  headmen  have  gone  to 
the  mosque,  and  that  we  cannot  have  our  baggage  until 
the  following  day.  We  then  decide  to  find  the  consul 
and  appeal  to  his  authority.  The  European  quarter  is  a 
long  way  off,  and  when  we  reach  it  we  find  only  mud 


INTO  A  CHOLERA  TRAP  43 

walls,  dusty  hollows  strewn  with  ruins,  and  streets  full  of 
holes  and  pitfalls.  A  few  well-built  gateways  open  here 
and  there  into  gardens  half  hidden  by  brick  walls,  above 
which  tower  pale  green  poplars.  This  quarter  seems 
even  more  lifeless  and  melancholy  than  the  rest  of  the 
town.  The  consular  residence  is  closed ;  so  too  are  the 
houses  of  other  Europeans  to  Avhom  we  have  letters. 
AVe  begin  to  regret  our  tent,  and  the  prospect  of  finding 
shelter  is  not  promising.  The  mid -day  sun  is  getting 
hotter,  and  the  dry  wind  raises  clouds  of  dust. 

With  a  feeling  of  relief  we  meet  a  European  standing 
at  the  gate  of  his  house ;  he  is  clad  all  in  white,  helmet 
and  duck  suit.  He  proves  to  be  a  young  Austrian,  and  in 
a  few  words  of  French  he  explains  the  m^'stery  of  the 
situation.  The  cholera  is  raging;  there  have  been  many 
thousand  deaths;  and  although  it  is  rumored  that  the 
worst  is  over,  and  that  the  numbers  have  begun  to  dimin- 
isli,  it  is  still  impossible  to  obtain  any  reliable  figures. 
The  large  European  colony,  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
individuals,  has  left  the  city,  and  has  taken  refuge  in  the 
villages  on  the  slopes  of  the  Sahend  Mountains.  The 
great  bazaars,  the  most  extensive  and  populous  in  all 
Persia,  are  almost  empty,  and  the  few  European  shops 
are  closed.  This,  then,  was  the  reason  of  the  empty 
streets  and  the  hurried  funeral  processions  which  we  had 
encountered  on  the  road.  Although  we  had  made  this 
long  detour  to  avoid  the  infected  liussian  provinces,  we 
have  ridden  straight  into  a  cliolera  trap.  Tiie  life  in  tiie 
open  country  has  been  joyous  enough,  but  in  every  town 
we  have  had  some  unpleasant  experience,  and  this  bids 
fair  to  cap  the  climax. 


FROM  TABREEZ   TO   ISPAHAN 

I. 
The  vertical  rays  of  a  noonday  sun  beat  clown  merci- 
lessly in  this  deserted  by-way  of  Tabreez,  and  we  were 
driven  to  take  refuge  in  the  narrow  patch  of  shadow 
under  the  projecting  eaves  of  a  house.  While  we  stood 
there  our  newly -found  friend  explained  the  situation, 
which  we  endeavored  to  grasp,  wondering  a  little  at  our 
own  lack  of  emotion.  We  were  neither  of  us  surprised 
to  find  cholera  the  reigning  power,  but  felt  that  we  might 
better  have  gone  luxuriously  to  Samarcand  in  a  saloon 
carriage  than  to  have  ridden  through  five  hundred  miles 
of  mountains  to  see  a  plague-smitten  city.  "  A  pretty  state 
of  affairs !"  said  my  companion,  as  we  all  strolled  along 
the  shady  side  in  search  of  shelter  of  some  kind,  for 
Tabreez  cannot  boast  of  a  hotel,  in  the  European  sense  of 
the  word.  After  knocking  at  several  doors  and  finding  no 
one  but  the  door-keeper,  always  with  the  same  negative 
answer,  our  new  friend  invited  us  into  his  own  iiouse. 
Stepping  down  through  a  low  door  in  the  outer  mud-wall, 
and  crossing  a  brick -paved  court-yard,  we  reached  the 
sitting-room.  There  is  a  square  tank  in  the  middle  of  the 
court,  ])lants  in  pots  are  grouped  about  it,  and  ranged 
along  the  walls  is  a  row  of  great  jars,  the  usual  acces- 
saries of  a  Persian  house  now,  as  in  the  days  of  Ali  Baba; 
tall  trees  cast  thin  and  flickering  shadows,  for  the  leaves 
are  crisped  and  burned  by  the  dry  August  winds.     A  pile 


46  A  FRIEND  IN   NEED 

of  boxes  and  trunks  is  visible  from  the  window,  stacked 
in  a  corner  of  the  yard ;  tliey  are  marked  with  an  Eng- 
lish name,  and  their  owner  was  one  of  the  latest  victims 
of  the  cholera.  Meanwhile  there  is  good  wine  on  the 
table,  and  a  prospect  of  something  solid  as  well.  Our 
host,  by  inviting  us  into  his  house,  is  acting  the  part  of 
an  uncommonly  good  Samaritan,  for  in  these  troublous 
times  he  cannot  foresee  what  may  happen  to  the  stranger 
within  his  gates.  While  we  are  sitting  at  ease  around 
the  table  he  takes  our  dragoman  to  task  for  his  stupidity 
in  letting  the  baggage  be  driven  into  the  custom-house,  as 
the  Persian  officials,  it  is  Avell  understood,  have  no  right 
whatever  to  meddle  with  personal  property.  He  at  once 
despatches  his  own  servant  to  recover  it,  and  to  find  us 
a  house,  where  we  can  unpack.  While  sitting  at  the 
table  I  had  begun  to  feel  strangely  uncomfortable  and 
disinclined  to  take  part  in  the  conversation,  which  had 
become  more  general,  as  a  German  friend  of  our  enter- 
tainer, and  one  or  two  Persians,  had  joined  us.  An  over- 
powering feeling  of  drowsiness  had  taken  possession  of 
me,  as  well  as  a  return  of  this  morning's  symptoms. 
Child  produces  his  bottle  of  "cholera  mixture,"  but,  far 
from  bettering  my  condition,  the  effect  is  immediately 
disastrous.  It  is  evident  from  the  expression  of  watchful 
intensity  in  our  host's  eyes  w^iat  is  in  his  mind.  He 
takes  from  his  pocket  two  papers  containing  some  white 
powder,  which  he  administers  at  intervals,  and  then 
shows  me  into  a  dark  closet,  where  I  can  lie  down  and 
be  at  rest ;  sleep,  however,  is  out  of  the  question,  for  there 
is  no  escape  from  the  swarms  of  flies,  and  after  a  brief 
period  of  tranquillity  and  comparative  darkness,  I  return 
to  the  room,  and  take  possession  of  the  divan.  Listening 
dreamily  to  the  hum  of  voices  in  French,  German,  and  the 
strange  Persian  tongue,  I  become  conscious  of  returning 


RETURN  OF   OUR   LUGGAGE  47 

peace  of  mind  and  body,  of  a  blessed  sense  of  perfect 
comfort,  and  when  the  cool  of  the  evening  comes  I  am 
sufficiently  recovered  to  look  forward  to  dinner  with 
almost  the  usual  interest.  I  recall  these  personal  reminis- 
cences, which  under  ordinary  circumstances  would  have 
no  importance,  with  the  presumption  that  it  may  interest 
some  one  to  know  how  an  abortive  attack  of  cholera  feels 
at  the  very  beginning.  While  we  are  dining  in  the  court- 
yard, the  servant  returns  with  the  welcome  news  that  the 
minions  of  the  custom-house  have  \'ielded  up  their  prey, 
and  that  all  our  baggage  has  been  taken  to  the  house 
which  he  has  found  for  us.  Escorted  by  our  German 
friends,  and  lighted  by  a  huge  transparent  lantern,  which 
is  always  carried  in  front  of  the  belated  wayfarer  in  a 
Persian  cit}',  we  set  out  for  our  new  quarters,  a  few  doors 
off.  At  the  entrance  of  the  narrow  lane  leading  to  the 
house  we  are  obliged  to  step  over  a  deep  pit,  or  "  khanat,'' 
to  use  a  Persian  term,  and,  reaching  the  low  door,  we 
descend  a  few  mossy  steps,  and  cross  a  small  court-yard, 
strewn  with  large  and  juicy  mulberries,  which  have  fallen 
from  a  great  tree  covering  like  a  roof  the  whole  en- 
closure.  Our  bedroom  occupies  the  greater  part  of  the 
lower  floor,  and  the  walls  are  panelled  off  into  arched  re- 
cesses, most  useful  for  storing  small  articles. 

A  u(/u«t  J  1st. — My  companion  seems  quite  ill ;  he  com- 
plains that  all  his  symptoms  of  yesterday  have  returned, 
accompanied  b}'  cramps  in  the  legs.  Artemis,  also,  is  in 
great  misery,  and  weare  a  most  dejected  expression,  but 
he  has  already  consumed  nearly  all  the  slender  stock  of 
remedies  at  hand,  and  but  one  solitary  mustard-plaster 
remains.  In  ready  response  to  our  appeal,  we  are  at  once 
visited  by  the  lady  left  in  charge  of  the  medical  depart- 
ment of  the  American  mission,  accompanietl  by  one  of 
the  leading  members  of  that  society.     They  decide  that 


48  IN    HOSPITAL 

my  friend  has  cholera,  and  that  Artemis  has  a  milder  form 
of  the  same  malady.  Both  patients  must  be  removed  at 
once  to  more  airy  and  accessible  quarters,  and  they  gener- 
ously place  the  mission  school-house,  now  empty  and  next 
door  to  the  dispensary,  at  our  disposal.  With  their  assist- 
ance we  are  quickly  installed  in  the  new  quarters,  which 
are  far  more  spacious  and  airy  than  the  little  house  where 
Ave  passed  the  night.  Two  great  rooms  connected  by 
folding  doors  occupy  the  upper  floor;  in  one  of  them  a 
comfortable  bed  has  been  made  ready  for  the  patient,  and 
in  the  other,  where  the  battered  desks  and  benches  of  the 
Armenian  school-children  have  been  huddled  together  at 
one  end,  we  bestow  the  dragoman  and  the  dusty,  weather- 
beaten  camp  baggage.  Many  doors  and  windows  open  on 
to  the  flat  clay  roofs,  or  terraces,  whence  the  eye  com- 
mands a  wide  and  desolate  panorama  of  mountains — the 
far-stretching  level  of  flat  roofs,  low  clay  domes  in  long 
ranks  marking  the  course  of  the  bazaars,  and  the  encir- 
cling heights  are  all  of  the  same  pale  reddish  hue,  cut  by 
the  vertical  lines  of  slender  green  poplars,  and  the  hills  of 
the  Sahend  group  on  the  south  are  patched  with  snow. 
Straight  from  these  high  ridges  a  cool  and  bracing  wind 
blew  across  the  house-tops,  tempering  the  heat  of  the  long 
summer  days,  and  rising  at  times  to  a  gale  in  the  clear 
moonlit  nights.  A  line  of  gaunt  and  barren  desert  cliffs 
hemmed  us  in  on  the  east,  and  at  sunset  their  slopes 
burned  with  vivid  orange  and  vermilion  hues.  This 
was  our  home  for  nearly  four  weeks,  while  my  com- 
panion, for  the  first  few  days  hanging  between  life  and 
death,  gradually  recovered  his  strength.  Artemis  was 
soon  on  his  feet  again,  and  he  resigned  himself  with  the 
air  of  a  martyr  to  his  new  duties  as  hospital  assistant ;  he 
was  soon  able  to  occupy  himself  with  the  concoction  of 
various  savory  dishes,  as  Tatos  had  no  time  to  cook  for 


A   GLOOMY   OUTLOOK  49 

him,  and  very  little  time  for  sleep.  "While  the  epidemic 
had  been  declining  in  Tabreez,  it  had  broken  out  in 
Teheran,  and  many  were  the  victims.  A  number  of 
Europeans  had  fallen,  members  of  the  telegraph  corps,  and 
of  the  staff  of  the  "  Imperial  Bank  of  Persia."  The  em- 
ployes of  this  latter  institution  had  organized  a  volunteer 
corps  of  hospital  assistants  which  had  been  of  very  great 
service.  There  were  rumors,  moreover,  of  an  outbreak  at 
Ispahan  and  Shiraz.  It  was  then,  during  the  conva- 
lescence of  my  companion,  that  we  discussed  two  alter- 
native routes  which  seemed  to  offer  a  shorter  land 
journey  to  India.  The  route  via  Shuster  and  the  Karun 
River  first  suggested  itself,  but  was  abandoned  when  we 
found  that  the  steamers  which  touched  at  the  port  were 
not  to  be  depended  upon. 

The  caravan  road  to  Bagdad,  and  thence  by  steamer 
to  India  down  the  Tigris,  was  next  considered  ;  it  was  too 
late  in  the  season  to  think  of  going  to  Mossoul  and  down 
the  Tigris  by  raft,  the  usual  way,  and  the  direct  caravan 
road  had  its  drawbacks.  One  gentleman  connected  with 
the  mission,  who  had  just  returned  from  that  journey, 
said  that  the  Turkish  officials  had  confiscated  not  only 
his  sermons,  but  his  blank  paper ;  and  another,  who  had 
undertaken  a  business  enterprise,  had  fallen  among  Beda- 
weens,  and  they  had  stripped  him  of  all  he  possessed. 
Moreover,  the  plague  was  then  holding  high  carnival  at 
Bagdad,  and  the  cholera  was  marching  steadily  in  that 
direction.  Should  one  escape  these  evils,  there  remained 
the  well-known  scourge  of  that  city,  the  "Aleppo  but- 
ton," to  be  taken  into  consideration — the  little  abscess 
which  appears  somewhere  on  the  countenance,  and  leaves 
a  purple  lump  shaped  like  a  date  stone.  AVe  concluded 
then  to  carry  out  our  original  plan,  and  to  keep  on  riu 
Teheran    and    Ispahan    to    Bushire.      Our   enforced    do- 


50  ARTISTIC  EFFECTS 

tention  at  Tabreez  was  rendered  more  endurable  by 
knowing  that  we  could  not  go  to  Teheran  until  the  epi- 
demic was  over.  Tabreez  itself  offered  but  little  artistic 
interest,  although  the  bazaars,  as  they  filled  up  once  more 
with  returning  life,  were  as  interesting  as  any  we  af- 
terwards encountered.  Like  all  other  Persian  bazaars, 
they  are  long  vaulted  corridors  solidly  built  of  brick- 
work or  masonry,  lined  with  shops  on  both  sides,  and 
with  domes  at  regular  intervals.  At  the  top  of  each 
lofty  dome  is  a  small  round  opening  through  which  the 
sunlight  streams  in,  enlivening  the  long  and  sombre  per- 
spective with  vertical  shafts  of  dusty  light.  One  felt  as 
if  walking  through  a  gallery  of  living  Rembrandts  and 
Eiberas,  and  where  a  slender  beam  of  light  flecked  with 
motes  touched  upon  a  group  in  front  of  a  shop,  or  gilded 
a  pile  of  oranges  in  a  fruit  stall,  it  was  as  if  an  electric 
lamp  had  blazed  out  in  the  purple  gloom.  A  high 
pointed  archway  opens  here  and  there  into  the  great 
court  of  a  caravansary,  and  the  broad  track  of  light 
streams  across  the  bazaar,  edging  the  hurrying  figures 
with  a  golden  halo.  This  type  of  caravansary  is  not, 
however,  like  those  where  travellers  put  up  on  the  road, 
but  rather  a  vast  storehouse,  a  court,  surrounded  by  two 
tiers  of  pointed  arches  or  alcoves,  the  lower  one  occupied 
by  shops  and  shaded  by  awnings.  There  is  always  a 
wide  tank  in  the  middle,  surrounded  by  poplar  and  plane 
trees.  The  ground  is  littered  with  packages  of  merchan- 
dise enveloped  in  gunny-bags.  Long  trains  of  tall  camels 
chained  together  blockade  the  entrance  to  these  enclos- 
ures, and  one  is  obliged  to  steer  his  way  among  their  legs 
or  dart  under  the  chains  in  order  to  enter ;  and  one  must 
be  always  on  the  alert  to  avoid  the  caravans  of  laden 
mules  or  pack-horses  with  jingling  bells,  and  droves  of 
donkeys  carrying  building  material,  as  well  as  the  cava- 


INTEKIOR    or    HAZAAR    AT    TAHRKKZ 


52  AMONG  THE   BAZAARS 

liers  who  are  mounted  on  superb  horses  decked  with 
saddle-cloths  of  velvet  embroidered  with  gold.  Some  of 
these  saddle  covers  were  of  finest  Persian  carpeting,  or 
of  cloth  embroidered  with  applied  designs. 

There  are  no  fine  mosques  or  remarkable  monuments 
in  Tabreez  save  the  magnificent  ruin  called  the  "  Blue 
Mosque,"  which  is  covered  with  exquisite  faience,  blue  in 
its  prevailing  tone,  relieved  by  dull  black  and  yellow,  and 
the  lofty  fragment  of  a  brick  citadel  called  the  "Ark." 
During  the  convalescence  of  my  companion  I  found  time 
to  explore  a  portion  of  the  bazaars  and  the  surrounding 
streets,  but  never  did  I  succeed  in  finding  a  way  through 
the  labyrinth  of  dusty  lanes  and  gardens  to  the  open  des- 
ert beyond.  The  streets  have  but  few  attractions  for  the 
pedestrian  who  walks  for  exercise,  although  the  bazaars, 
as  they  gradually  filled  up  and  resumed  their  normal  as- 
pect, were  a  never-failing  source  of  interest.  But  the  air 
in  these  vaulted  and  gloomy  aisles  is  close  and  heavy  in 
midsummer,  besides  being  scented  Avith  oppressive  and 
unfamiliar  odors,  and  it  is  not  easy  to  avoid  contact  with 
the  swift  and  silent  funeral  processions.  Naturally  one 
felt  drawn  towards  the  open  country  which  lay  beyond 
the  city,  but  the  usual  limit  of  these  pilgrimages  towards 
the  source  of  the  invigorating  desert  wind  was  the  deso- 
late and  sandy  cemetery  surrounding  the  city,  for  here,  as 
in  all  Oriental  countries,  the  dead  seem  to  occupy  far  more 
space  than  the  living. 

Owing  to  the  constant  care  and  devotion  of  our  friends, 
we  were  soon  able  to  set  out  again,  and  while  Ave  were 
preparing  for  the  next  move  the  European  colony  began 
to  flock  back  from  the  hills.  Had  it  not  been  for  their 
kindly  aid  we  should  have  been  obliged  to  wrestle  with 
many  more  difficulties.  Artemis  was  sent  back  to  Con- 
stantinople, as  a  Persian  who  spoke  fairly  good  French 


54  OFF  AGAIN 

had  been  found  to  take  his  place.  A  new  tent  was  pur- 
chased, more  roomy  than  the  other,  and  the  bazaars  were 
ransacked  for  supphes.  Although  we  had  been  advised  to 
buy  all  our  animals,  we  finally  shirked  the  responsibility 
by  chartering  the  lot  from  a  chavadar.  When  the  last 
load  had  been  adjusted,  and  we  had  taken  leave  of  the 
friends  to  whom  we  felt  so  deeply  indebted,  following  the 
caravan  bells  through  the  dusky  gloom  of  the  bazaars, 
and  ploughing  over  the  long  sandy  avenue  beyond,  it 
was  with  a  certain  sense  of  relief  that  we  climbed  the 
desert  slopes  which  flanked  the  Sahend  Mountains,  and 
breathed  once  more  the  keen,  pure  air  which  blew  across 
the  open  wastes. 

II. 
Saidabad,  Septeiiiber  lot))..  —  Our  camp  to-night  is  on 
green  turf,  near  the  pebbly  shore  of  a  brook  fringed  by 
willows.  My  first  exploit  is  to  get  lamed  b}^  a  kick,  while 
trying  to  head  off  my  fugitive  steed,  who  is  trotting  off 
bridleless,  to  have  a  roll  on  the  grass  with  his  saddle  still 
on.  The  very  first  performance  of  our  caravan  horses, 
when  we  come  to  the  end  of  the  day's  march,  is  to  lie 
down  and  roll  luxuriously,  with  their  loads  on,  if  possi- 
ble, and  to  raise  a  cyclone  of  dust.  The  caravan,  as  well 
as  the  commissariat  department,  is  on  quite  a  new  foot- 
ing, and  much  better  organized  than  before.  Tatos,  the 
cook,  is  still  with  us,  and  Abdullah,  the  new  Persian  ser- 
vant, seems  capable  and  trustworthy.  We  have  ten  horses 
in  all — two  for  our  personal  use,  and  eight  for  the  baggage 
and  men.  As  the  Persians  know  how  to  travel  in  their 
own  country,  Ave  have  adopted  their  fashion  of  carrying- 
valises  and  small  trunks,  and  have  invested  in  two  pairs 
of  long  carpet  sacks,  in  which  these  articles  are  packed. 
Each  sack  is  called  a  "  ma-fresch,"  and  two  of  them  are  a 


OUR  IMPEDIMENTA  55 

load  for  a  liorse,  one  being  placed  on  each  side  of  the  sad- 
dle, with  the  weight  carefully  adjusted.  These  recepta- 
cles are  usually  made  of  velvety  Persian  carpeting,  six 
feet  in  length  by  eighteen  inches  in  depth  and  width, 
shaped  like  long  narrow  boxes,  with  stout  leather  lian- 
dles  at  each  end,  and  a  multitude  of  straps  and  buckles. 
In  these  sacks  all  the  small  packages  and  valises  are 
placed,  water-proof  bags  with  bedding,  our  iron  camp- 
bedsteads,  stools,  tables,  and  carpets,  are  laid  on  the  top, 
and  after  being  tightly  strapped  up,  they  are  lifted  into 
place  by  the  combined  efforts  of  all  the  men,  and  corded 
on  to  the  bulky  pack-saddles  of  the  horses.  Provisions, 
wine,  and  cooking  utensils  are  carried  in  two  quaint 
chests,  made  in  a  Tabreez  bazaar,  covered  with  stamped 
red  leather,  and  provided  with  short  legs,  which  prevent 
the  cords  from  slipping  off.  Another  chest,  made  in  Par- 
is, which  we  meant  to  leave  at  Trebizond,  is  still  with  us. 
The  horse  which  the  head  chavadar  rides  is  more  lightly 
loaded  than  the  others,  and  picturesquely  festooned  with 
bags  of  fodder  and  earthen  Avater-jars.  Each  of  these 
weather-beaten  old  horses,  with  head-stall  of  fringed 
leather,  straps  and  bridle  ornamented  with  shells  and  blue 
beads,  and  his  worn  pack-saddle,  shredded  and  patched 
with  many  coloi*s,  like  a  beggar's  mantle,  is  a  wonder- 
fully interesting  study  of  color.  Around  their  necks, 
among  the  many-hued  tassels,  or  from  their  sides,  are 
hung  bells,  and  bells  within  bells.  Our  march  tiiroufrh 
Persia  was  attended  by  their  monotonous  but  not  dis- 
cordant music.  For  at  night,  while  we  slept  in  the 
tent,  the  horses,  tethered  in  a  long  row  to  a  cord  outside, 
munched  steadily  at  the  chopped  straw  in  their  nose- 
bags, and  in  our  waking  moments  we  Avere  conscious  of 
the  same  chimes  Avhicli  Ave  had  heard  through  the  day. 
Each  chavadar,  clothed  in  patched  and  faded  blue,  or  en- 


HADJI    THE    CHAVADAR    AiND    HIS    ARAB    STKED 


veloped  in  heavy  felt  overcoat,  to  keep  off  the  chill  of 
early  morning,  his  face  burned  and  tanned  to  a  rich  ma- 
hogany tint,  is  a  type  of  the  most  primitive,  robust  order. 
This  caravan  life  has  a  subtle  charm  of  its  own  when 
one  is  in  perfect  health  and  things  go  smoothly,  and  even 
when  they  do  not,  the  minor  discomforts  of  a  nomad  ex- 
istence do  not  weigh  heavily  on  nerves  blunted  by  the  open 
air  and  a  certain  amount  of  healthy  fatigue.  When  one 
journeys  by  vestibule  train  or  Wagner  sleeping-car,  the 
short  space  of  time  between  two  cities  is  like  an  interim, 
an  ent7'''acte,  during  which  one's  daily  routine  is  suspend- 
ed, to  be  resumed  again  only  when  he  leaves  the  train  at 
his  destination.     But  here,  Avhere  the  distances  are  so  vast. 


THE   DAILY   ROUTINE  57 

the  real  existence  is  on  the  road,  and  the  brief  stay  in  each 
city,  full  of  feverish,  agitated  movement  and  unrest,  be- 
comes the  interim,  and  the  traveller  looks  forward  to  tlie 
calm  and  pure  air  of  the  desert  plateau  beyond  and  the 
comfort  of  his  tent.  The  routine  of  daily  life  is  a  little 
trying  at  first,  but  easily  learned ;  each  twenty-four  hours 
is  divided  into  four  parts — the  period  of  hurry  and  activ- 
ity in  the  early  morning,  a  longer  one  of  comparative  tran- 
quillity on  the  march,  the  brief  hour  of  bustle  on  arriving 
at  our  destination,  and  then,  "  nirvana,"  the  dreamless 
sleep  of  the  night.  At  half-past  three  or  at  four  a.m.  it  is 
time  to  get  up  and  dress  by  candlelight,  to  call  for  the 
"  samovar  "  and  hot  tea,  to  see  that  the  men  in  the  kitch- 
en tent  are  astir,  and  that  the  chavadars  are  feeding 
their  horses.  Then  the  small  articles  are  packed,  Abdul- 
lah brings  in  breakfast,  and  while  we  are  eating  the  cha- 
vadars come  in  to  take  out  the  baggage,  the  first  red  light 
from  the  rising  sun  shines  through  the  transparent  walls, 
and  then  the  tent  itself  is  pulled  down,  and  Ave  are  shiver- 
ing in  the  frosty  and  bracing  morning  air.  Sometimes 
breakfast  is  finished  on  one  of  the  camp-chests  while  the 
table  is  being  packed  away.  AVhen  the  last  load  has 
been  secured,  and  the  ground,  now  strewn  with  egg-shells 
and  loose  straw,  has  been  searched  for  lost  articles,  we 
mount  our  horses  or  walk  on  ahead.  Then  comes  tlie 
long  day  of  comparative  rest ;  and  when  the  brief  morn- 
ing chill  has  passed  away,  made  drowsy  by  the  growing 
heat  of  the  sun,  we  nod  and  sway  in  our  saddles,  lulled  by 
the  monotony  of  the  slow  march  and  the  ceaseless  tin- 
klino;  of  the  bells.  Over  deserts  of  white  salt,  like  new- 
fallen  snow  or  frozen  sleet,  where  the  horizon  swims  and 
quivers  in  the  mirage,  and  over  plains  floored  with  black 
volcanic  deposit,  we  ride  on  and  on,  over  passes,  across 
rivers  and  marshy  plains,  until  it  is  time  to  hurry  on 


58 


PREPARATION  FOR  SLEEP 


ahead  of  the  caravan  and  despatch  a  hasty  lunch  on  some 
shelterless  hill-side,  or  deep  in  a  gully  if  the  wind  bloAvs, 
and,  best  of  all,  where  there  is  a  brook  in  which  to  cool  a 
bottle  of  wine.  This  caravan,  unlike  the  former  one,  nev- 
er halts  at  noon,  but  keeps  on  at  the  same  unvarying  pace 
until  its  allotted  task  is  done.  At  last  the  lengthening 
shadows  and  the  sight  of  the  distant  mud-walls  of  the 
village  where  we  are  to  halt  warn  us  that  it  is  time  to 
spur  on  with  the  chavadar  to  select  our  camping-ground 
before  the  baggage  animals  come  up.  It  was  usually  our 
fate  to  encamp  on  a  ploughed  field,  and  it  was  no  small 
piece  of  work  to  clear  the  ground  of  stones  and  briers; 
often  in  a  high  wind  it  required  the  combined  strength 
of  all  of  us  to  hold  the  flapping  canvas  while  the  pegs 
were  being  driven  in,  and  we  were  fortunate  indeed  if 
there  were  no  wet  sketches  lying  about  when  the  dust 
drove  in  clouds  under  the  tent.     When  the  cords  are  well 


OCR    TENT    AT    NIGHT 


FRIENDLY  FELINES  59 

secured  the  baggage  is  brought  in,  carpets  are  spread  out, 
beds  are  unfolded,  and  the  ebonite  filters  are  put  in  work- 
ing order,  so  that  tea  or  the  refreshing  "peg"  may  be 
forthcoming.  There  is  often  a  leisure  hour  in  which  to 
jot  down  impressions  of  color  before  Abdullah  comes  in  to 
set  the  table,  and  after  dinner  we  sit  under  the  canvas 
awning  which  projects  above  the  tent  door,  and  smoke,  in 
the  crimson  after-glow,  grand  and  solemn,  in  this  land  of 
vast  horizons. 

Turkomanshai,  Septeinher  17th. — A  ruinous  caravansary 
stands  by  the  road-side,  and  the  tents  are  put  up  just  be- 
yond it  on  the  brink  of  a  deep  fissure,  through  which  a 
narrow  stream  flows,  and  the  land  rises  abruptl}^  on  the 
other  side.  Deep  in  the  gully  there  is  a  spring  set  about 
with  stones,  and  the  men  lead  down  the  tired  horses  to 
drink.  Here,  as  elsewhere  near  a  village,  we  are  beset 
with  cats — not  that  we  regard  them  with  antipathy,  but 
there  are  really  too  many  cats.  They  seem  to  spring 
up  from  the  ground,  and  curl  themselves  snugly  in  our 
beds.  AVhen  they  have  been  expelled  they  make  a  sem- 
blance of  retreating,  but  return  again  to  take  refuge  among 
our  bags  and  carpets.  At  the  dinner  hour  they  prowl 
about  the  door  of  the  tent  in  anticipation  of  bones,  and 
pass  like  illuminated  silhouettes  across  the  track  of  the 
lantern  light. 

Mianeh,  Septemher  18th. — This  is  the  home  of  the  re- 
doubtable insect  of  which  the  bite  is  believed  to  be  fatal 
both  to  men  and  horses.  We  were  therefore  not  unwill- 
ing to  favor  the  popular  superstition  by  encamping  at 
some  distance  from  the  town.  We  ford  a  narrow  but 
deep  and  rushing  brook,  and  put  up  the  tents  in  a  plouglied 
field.  A  lurid  sunset  portends  rain,  and  against  this  som- 
bre background  our  camp-followers  with  their  lu)i*ses  and 
the  group  of  curious  villagers  tell  with  unusual  force  of 


60  MENTAL  TELEGRAPHY 

color.  The  men  have  been  winnowing  grain,  and  the 
ground  is  littered  with  straw  and  yellow  dust.  They  all 
feel  a  chill  in  the  rising  wind,  which  shakes  the  tent  walls, 
and  have  built  fires.  While  the  preparations  for  dinner 
are  going  on  the  chavadars  are  curry-combing  the  horses 
with  the  curious  implement  peculiar  to  this  country,  which 
makes  a  loud  humming  sound,  like  a  watchman's  rattle. 

Serchem,  September  19th. — We  are  still  jogging  on  to 
the  tune  of  the  caravan  bells  over  the  endless  desert  pla- 
teaux, following  the  line  of  the  Indo-European  telegraph 
poles.  AVe  came  suddenly  upon  them  after  leaving  Khoi 
and  long  before  reaching  Tabreez.  Now  they  stretch 
away  before  and  behind  us,  an  endless  perspective  of  trim 
iron  masts,  each  with  the  name  of  the  famous  London 
firm  stamped  upon  it.  By  merely  touching  one  of  these 
poles  one  feels  at  once  en  rapport  with  London  or  Paris, 
Kew  York,  and  Bombay.  Walking  on  a  mile  or  more  in 
advance  of  the  caravan,  over  a  billowy  plain,  which  seems 
vaster  than  the  ocean  itself,  for  the  reason  that  we  are 
always  at  such  an  elevation  that  it  is  like  being  on  the 
roof  of  the  world,  whence  one  can  look  forth  over  endless 
space,  we  are  approaching  a  still  higher  table-land.  Far 
beyond  the  plain,  tufted  with  bunches  of  dry  3^ellow  herb- 
age gilded  by  the  setting  sun,  this  great  plateau  rises 
above  us  at  a  distance  impossible  to  estimate  in  the  clear 
atmosphere ;  its  surface  is  broken  up  into  little  hillocks, 
like  the  waves  of  a  petrified  sea,  each  crest  tipped  with 
scarlet  from  the  glowing  west,  and  each  long  shadow  cor- 
respondingly violet;  and  beyond  this  again  rises  another 
and  still  higher  country  of  purple  mountains,  and  through 
the  gaps  of  their  serrated  sky-line  other  and  more  distant 
ranges  may  be  discerned,  faint  and  far  away.  Looking 
into  the  west  as  the  sun  smks,  range  after  range  becomes 
visible,  each  less  purple  and  more  enveloped  in  golden 


ZINJAN   EXPLORED  61 

haze.  A  wide  river  valley  lay  between  us  and  the  pla- 
teau. In  the  twilight  which  follows  closely  upon  the 
golden  after-glow  we  halted  near  a  village  strangely  sug- 
gestive of  the  African  Sahara. 

Z'tnjaii,  September  2Jt.th. — Having  arrived  early  we  in- 
tend taking  a  day  of  rest,  partly  on  account  of  the  horses. 
A  yellow  plain  reaches  to  the  city  walls :  several  different 
roads,  like  white  threads  drawn  across  it,  converge  at  a 
point  of  the  wall  which  is  probably  the  entrance.  Be- 
yond this  yellow  line  of  walls  rise  a  few  yellow  domes, 
some  dark,  spire-like  trees,  and  three  bulbous  domes  of 
vivid  turquoise  blue,  which  glitter  in  the  sunshine  against 
the  pink  and  violet  hills.  We  encamp  on  the  gravel  plain 
well  away  from  the  town,  but  with  a  view  downward 
into  the  river  valley  over  the  wealth  of  green  foliage  con- 
lined  by  low  garden  walls.  Tatos  sets  out  at  once  for 
the  bazaar,  that  he  may  buy  the  wherewithal  with  which 
to  feast,  for  we  are  to  cross  another  desert,  and  that  which 
we  have  just  traversed  provided  but  little  to  satisfy  our 
Gargantuan  appetites,  which  ill  accord  with  the  ascetic 
cliaracter  of  the  country.  Accompanied  by  Abdullah,  I 
stroll  down  to  explore  the  town.  From  this  silent  and 
glaring  desert  it  is  but  a  few  steps  into  the  crowded  gloom 
of  the  bazaars,  noisy  with  the  strident  din  of  hammers  as 
we  pass  through  the  quarter  of  the  metal-workers,  and 
into  the  street  of  the  saddlers,  where  the  shopkeepers  stare 
silently  at  us  from  their  cavernous  retreats,  fringed  about 
with  tasselled  and  embroidered  trappings.  We  come  to  a 
hoary  old  mosque,  which  still  retains  a  little  of  its  ancient 
faience.  There  are  chains  across  the  door,  as  usual,  to  ex- 
clude the  infidel,  but  Abdullah,  who  avers  that  the  moul- 
lahs  of  Zinjan  are  less  fanatical  than  most  of  their  con- 
freres, raises  the  chain  for  me  to  enter.  Trusting  to  the 
wisdom  of  this  enlightened  Persian,!  slip  through  the  lial- 


62  LOSS  OF  A  STEEL  TRUNK 

lowed  portal,  and  stroll  about  under  the  venerable  poplars, 
examining  the  tile- work  adorning  the  cloisters.  Our  pres- 
ence seems  to  occasion  not  a  little  consternation,  but  ap- 
parently no  open  hostility,  and,  our  inspection  over,  we 
bow  ourselves  out  of  the  sacred  retreat.  It  was  the  first 
and  only  mosque  which  I  entered  in  Persia,  and  Abdullah 
afterwards  said  that  tlie  moullahs  did  not  at  all  appreciate 
the  honor  of  our  visit. 

Septemher  25th. — I  was  suddenly  awakened  from  a  last 
doze  at  daybreak  by  the  voice  of  my  companion,  Mr.  Child, 
who  stated  with  shocking  brevity  that  his  steel  trunk  had 
been  stolen.  Unwilling  to  believe  it,  we  hunted  high  and 
low,  but  upon  examining  the  "  ma-fresch,"  where  it  had 
been  left  just  inside  the  tent-wall,  we  discovered  that  both 
leather  and  carpet  had  been  cut  through  from  the  outside. 
He  himself  was  aware  of  the  moment  when  it  had  been 
done,  perhaps  half  an  hour  earlier ;  he  had  heard  the  rip- 
ping sound  of  the  knife,  but  being  half  asleep  had  paid  no 
attention  to  it.  The  camp  was  a  scene  of  confusion  for  an 
hour  or  more.  One  of  the  horses  had  been  cut  loose  by 
robbers,  but  turned  up  again  a  short  distance  away.  We 
had  a  faint  hope,  of  short  duration,  however,  that  the 
thief  on  breaking  open  the  box  would  not  think  it  worth 
while  to  carry  off  the  clothing  which  it  contained.  Of 
what  use  could  a  dress-suit  and  a  "  Feringhi's  "  wardrobe 
be  to  a  Persian  tramp?  But  nothing  was  found.  AVe 
concluded  then  to  send  on  the  caravan,  but  to  stop  on 
our  way  through  the  town  and  complain  to  the  Governor, 
who,  it  appeared,  was  also  a  prince.  As  we  rode  up  to 
the  palace  gate  a  company  of  horsemen  were  dismount- 
ing, one  of  whom  was  pointed  out  as  the  Governor's 
deputy.  Having  heard  our  statement,  he  led  the  way  into 
the  inner  court,  and  went  in  search  of  his  Excellence. 
After  a  short  delay,  a  group  of  officials  appeared,  follow- 


PACKING    BAGGAGE    BKFORE   SUNRISE 


ing  the  dignitary  at  the  head,  who,  after  a  courteous  sahi- 
tation.  sat  himself  down  in  a  niche  of  the  wall,  makinir 
room  for  us  bv  his  side.  He  seemed  greatly  concerned, 
and  after  asking  many  questions,  consulted  with  his  fol- 
lowers, and  said  that  his  Highness  was  now  asleep,  but 
would  awaken  about  noon,  when  he  would  probably  give 
us  an  audience,  "We  had  been  under  the  delusion  that  we 
were  talking  to  the  prince  himself,  and  now,  greatly  dis- 
gusted by  the  delay,  my  companion  vowed  that  he  had 


64  HUNTING  FOR  A  SITE 

far  rather  lose  his  clothes  than  so  much  valuable  time,  and 
briefly  saluting  the  representatives  of  power,  we  mounted 
and  hurried  off  to  catch  up  with  our  men, 

Sultanieh,  Septemher  26th. — Every  traveller  who  has 
left  a  record  of  this  journey  has  spoken  of  the  vast  extent 
of  ruins  around  Sultanieh.  M.  Jaubert,  a  Frenchman, 
who  went  on  a  diplomatic  mission  to  Teheran  in  1805, 
and  returned  by  this  route,  says :  "  The  remains  of  edi- 
fices and  fine  monuments  which  cover  the  plain,  together 
with  the  testimony  of  history,  combine  to  prove  the  van- 
ished splendor  of  this  city,  which  in  the  fifteenth  century 
was  the  depot  of  a  great  trade  with  India,"  Curzon  also 
speaks  of  it  in  similar  terms. 

As  we  approached  it,  late  in  the  afternoon,  we  passed  a 
summer  residence  of  the  Shah,  which  loomed  up  like  a 
domed  mosque  rising  above  a  fortress ;  and  beyond  it  ap- 
peared a  still  higher  and  more  ancient  dome,  with  frag- 
ments of  brilliant  mosaic  still  adhering  to  it.  It  was  twi- 
light before  we  reached  this  ruin  by  a  net-work  of  stony 
paths,  where  the  horses  stumbled  among  piles  of  loose 
bricks  and  broken  walls.  It  was  not  easy  to  pick  out  a 
clean  piece  of  ground  whereon  to  pitch  the  tent,  as  dark- 
ness had  come  on ;  there  was  a  cold  and  benumbing  wind, 
and  our  baggage  animals  were  still  lagging  behind.  But 
they  appeared  at  last  in  the  obscurity,  and  in  spite  of  stiff 
fingers  we  unpacked,  and  were  soon  comfortably  stretched 
out  on  our  camp-beds,  and  looking  forward  to  a  late  dinner. 
After  riding  across  miles  of  country  comparatively  clean, 
it  seemed  a  strange  and  annoying  fatality  that  we  should 
always  be  obliged  to  encamp  near  some  filthy  village  in 
order  to  procure  water,  or  to  get  to  windward  of  the 
cemetery. 

In  the  morning,  our  surroundings,  which  we  could  not 
see  distinctly   before,   are  unusually  striking.     Close  at 


A   NEW  ROAD  COMPANY  65 

hand,  the  great  crumbling  ruin  towers  above  us.  It  is  the 
once  splendid  mausoleum  of  Shah  Khodabendeh,  a  two- 
storied  octagonal  pile,  capped  by  a  dome,  and  with  a  slen- 
der minaret  rising  from  each  angle.  A  great  caravan 
covers  the  plain,  and  the  men,  shapeless  bundles  enveloped 
in  their  clumsy  felt  mantles,  are  huddled  together  over 
their  fires  in  the  misty  light  of  early  morning.  Our  own 
men,  as  they  bend  over  the  baggage  or  rise  up  like  silhou- 
ettes against  the  flushed  sky,  suggest  endless  combinations 
for  pictures  in  a  rich  and  mellow  scheme  of  color. 

Kazhin,  September  28th. — Here  we  hope  to  find  a 
vehicle  of  some  sort  to  take  us  over  the  hundred  miles 
of  carriage  road  beginning  at  Kazbin  and  ending  at 
Teheran.  But  alas  for  our  hopes.  There  is  no  carriage 
to  be  had,  not  even  a  droschke,  and  we  must  still  toil  on 
with  the  caravan.  There  are  plenty  of  arabas,  but  Ave 
know  from  experience  how  much  speed  can  be  gotten 
out  of  that  vehicle,  and  at  the  worst  we  shall  not  lose 
more  than  two  days.  The  Shah  had  recently  granted  a 
monopoly  to  the  new  road  company  formed  in  Vienna, 
and  while  we  were  still  at  Tabreez  the  perxonnel  of  the 
company  arrived,  bringing  their  carriages,  diligences,  and 
live-stock.  After  a  few  days  for  rest  and  repairs,  they 
went  on  to  Teheran.  In  the  meantime  tliere  is  an 
interim ;  the  old  service  has  been  suppressed,  and  the 
road  is  out  of  repair.  The  great  hotel,  charmingly  situ- 
ated in  a  garden,  and  looking  out  into  a  public  square 
which  is  a  picture  in  itself,  is  empty.  The  broad,  shady 
avenue  where  this  hostlery  stands  is  full  of  Hfe  and 
movement,  and  more  attractive  in  aspect  than  any  we 
have  seen  vet.  As  we  ffo  alono:,  Tatos  buys  some  coc^ked 
''  kabobs  "  at  a  shop,  so  that  we  may  have  a  hot  breakfast 
al  fresco  while  the  tent  is  going  up.  The  kabobs  of 
Pei-sia,  being  made  from  a  sort  of  spiced  minced   meat 


66 


NO  ILLUSIONS 


which  is  moulded  into  little  cakes  and  grilled,  are  un- 
commonly appetizing  when  at  the  best,  and  quite  equal 
to  Frankfort  sausages. 

Safar  Khojah^  Septemher  ^9th. — The  Shah's  highway, 
considered  as  an  agreeable  promenade,  or  merely  as  a 
necessary  avenue  of  approach  to  a  great  capital,  cannot 
be  considered  as  a  shining  success.  Straight  away  in 
front  of  us  as  far  as  eye  can  reach,  it  stretches  over  a 
level  plain,  and  up  a  slight  rise,  bounded  on  one  side  by 


THK    SHAU  S    HIGHWAY 


RELICS  OF  THE  PAST  67 

the  arrow-straight  line  of  iron  telegraph  poles.  The  skv 
is  slightly  overcast ;  a  fierce  wind  blows  in  our  faces, 
bringing  dense  clouds  of  dust,  which  rise  at  times  to  a 
great  height  in  the  distance,  often  taking  the  form  of 
water -spouts,  or  of  towering  columns  of  smoke;  once 
enveloped  in  one  of  these  travelling  dust-storms,  there  is 
nothing  to  do  but  hold  our  heads  down,  and  with  eyes 
tightly  shut  ride  through  it,  emerging  on  the  other  side 
white-bearded  and  powdered  like  millers.  Sometimes  we 
try  to  avoid  these  encounters  by  riding  over  the  rough 
and  broken  ground  on  one  side.  There  are  many  wrecks 
by  the  way  of  what  were  once  stout  ships  of  the  desert, 
as  well  as  the  last  remnants  of  horses,  mules,  and  donkey's, 
lying  where  they  gave  up  the  struggle  for  life.  The  only 
birds  in  this  drear  landscape  are  the  ravens,  which  hunt 
in  couples,  and  fly  up  from  the  road  croaking  hoarsely  as 
we  approach.  There  is  not  even  a  hard  bank  of  earth  or 
a  stone  large  enough  to  sit  upon  when  it  is  time  for 
lunch,  and  one  can  only  squat  ignorainiously  in  the  dust. 

The  rest-houses  and  caravansaries  along  the  road  are 
better  organized  than  usual,  and  travel  certainly  seems 
to  increase  as  we  near  the  capital.  The  grand  mountain 
ranges  which  have  skirted  our  route  are  no  longer 
in  sight,  but  others  are  appearing  in  the  distance.  Be- 
yond Sukurabad  we  cross  a  bridge  over  a  torrent,  which 
would  certainly  have  been  impassable  for  wheeled  vehi- 
cles, owing  to  the  great  holes  in  the  middle ;  and  while 
mounting  the  hill  beyond  it  we  are  overtaken  and  passed 
by  a  squad  of  cavalry  guarding  a  prisoner.  They  are 
variously  uniformed,  but  well  mounted,  and  most  of  them 
are  soldierly,  stalwart  fellows.  Many  wear  gray  Astra- 
khan caps,  and  belong  to  the  regiment  uniformed  as  Cos- 
sacks, which  is  considered  the  elite  of  the  Shah's  army. 
The  wretched  captive  has  his  jaw  bound  up  in  a  blood- 


68  BANDIT   AND   GUARD 

stained  rag,  his  hands  tied  behind  him,  and  he  manages 
with  difficulty  to  balance  himself  on  a  donkey.  He  is  a 
bandit  of  some  sort,  and  is  being  taken  to  Teheran,  Avhere 
he  will  lose  his  head,  or  be  strung  up  by  the  heels,  for 
Persian  justice  is  summary.  Two  men  not  in  uniform, 
but  armed  with  shot-guns,  ride  close  behind.  The  offi- 
cers, as  they  pass,  salute  us,  and  begin  a  conversation 
through  Abdullah.  An  hour  later  we  overtake  the  whole 
party,  who  have  dismounted  to  eat  by  a  road-side  cafe ; 
the  prisoner  has  been  untied,  and  is  fraternizing  with  the 
men  ;  the  officers  signal  to  us  to  stop  and  share  their  re- 
freshments, but  we  decline,  and  hasten  on  in  search  of 
some  deep  ravine  or  fissure  where  we  can  enjo}'^  a  quiet 
lunch  sheltered  from  the  boisterous,  dust-laden  wind. 

October  2d. — As  we  come  to  the  last  few  miles  before 
Teheran,  the  great  crescent -like  range  of  the  Shimran, 
powdered  with  snow,  dominates  the  landscape.  Some- 
where between  us  and  the  great  ravines  which  scar  the 
slopes,  in  the  midst  of  a  long  dark  line  which  is  begin- 
ning to  take  on  the  semblance  of  verdure,  lies  the  city. 
We  have  been  on  the  lookout  for  Demavend,  the  mighty 
pyramid  of  snow  twenty  thousand  feet  in  height,  but  the 
sky  is  too  cloudy  in  that  direction.  There  is  a  village  in 
front  of  us,  not  an  hour  from  Teheran,  and  we  halt  for 
lunch  ;  a  large  group  of  tents  surrounding  two  or  three 
great  blue  pavilions  lies  among  the  gardens  on  our  left. 
A  brook  crosses  the  road  with  several  channels  of  clear, 
rippling  water,  between  banks  of  green  turf,  and  here  our 
carpets  are  spread,  while  a  bottle  of  old  Kazbin  wine,  not 
unlike  Marsala,  is  buried  in  the  brook  to  cool.  Near  the 
cafe  by  the  road-side  are  two  or  three  antiquated  and 
cumbersome  barouches,  which  might  have  been  made  in 
the  days  of  the  First  Empire  ;  another  carriage  is  driven 
out   from  a  garden  gate,  with   coachman  and  postilion 


A  CUSTOMS   EXPERT  G9 

strangely  attired  in  brown  liveries,  and  with  long-skirted 
frock-coats,  recalling  the  fashions  of  Louis  XV.  Thev 
seem  to  have  stepped  out  from  a  masquerade  into  this 
strange  Asiatic  landscape.  They,  as  well  as  the  tents 
close  by,  belong  to  the  Shah,  who  is  on  his  way  to  the 
capital.  We  soon  overtake  our  pack-horses,  toiling  on  in 
the  now  increasing  company  of  other  caravans  and  riders 
on  horse  or  camel  back,  all  moving  towards  the  long 
green  line  of  gardens. 


Ill 

When  approaching  one  of  the  world-famous  cities  of 
Asia,  one  has  always  at  least  a  moment  of  faint  surprise 
at  finding  it  so  dwarfed  by  its  environment  of  giant 
mountain  barriers,  often  quite  hidden  until  one  is  close 
upon  it  by  some  fold  of  the  ground,  and  so  insignificant 
a  speck  in  the  surrounding  desolation.  The  ''  Kazbin 
Gate,"  by  which  we  enter,  is  a  modern  structure  of  fanci- 
ful but  inartistic  design,  decorated  with  enamelled  bricks. 
Abdullah,  having  been  a  custom-house  officer,  and  know- 
ing how  to  deal  with  his  brethren,  succeeds  admirably  in 
getting  us  through  the  gate  without  having  our  baggage 
overhauled.  We  enter  a  dusty  and  glaring  new  quarter, 
and  turn  into  a  crowded  market-place  of  vast  extent,  a 
labyrinth  of  booths  and  stalls,  shaded  by  the  most  ragged, 
many-colored,  and  fantastically  contrived  awnings  imag- 
inable. Picking  our  way  through  the  swarming  multi- 
tude, clothed  for  the  most  part  in  patched  and  faded  rags, 
steering  the  laden  horses  of  our  caravan  through  the  jam 
of  donkeys  and  ragged,  weather-beaten  camels,  among 
piles  of  vegetables,  hanging  meat,  rubbish  heaps,  files, 
dust,  and  debris,  we  turn  into  a  dark  corritlor  leading  to 
the  bazaars  of  Teheran.     How  long  we  were  engaged  in 


70 


IN   THE   THICK  OF  IT 


slowly  threading  our  way  through  these  interminable  and 
dimly  lighted  aisles  it  would  be  difficult  to  estimate. 
Progress  was  necessarily  slow  by  reason  of  the  crush, 
which  seemed  to  exceed  even  that  of  Tabreez,  the  con- 
tinual entanglements  with  camel  and  mule  trains  which 
we  met  on  the  way,  and  the  disputes  w4th  shopkeepers,  as 
our  projecting  chests  and  tent-poles  constantly  threatened 


%ji.>^?W6, 


GRAIN    MAUKKT,  TKHKRAN 


the  merchandise  hung  up  in  front  of  their  shops.  But 
every  step  was  full  of  novelty  and  charm.  We  lingered 
for  a  moment  in  front  of  a  fascinating  cook-shop,  where 
great  jars  were  sunk  to  the  brim  in  a  clay  counter, 
after  the  fashion  of  the  wine-shops  in  Pompeii ;  a  few  old 
tiles  sparkled  like  blue  and  yellow  gems,  placed  irregularly 
on  the  wall,  in  its  bituminous  depths.     Farther  on,  a  veri- 


ORIENTAL   STYLE  71 

table  European  shop  displayed  second-hand  furniture 
and  a  brave  array  of  gilded  chairs  covered  with  crimson 
damask.  A  passage  opened  into  a  great  roofed  ware- 
house, glittering  with  huge  crystal  chandeliers  and  quan- 
tities of  cut-glass  ware  from  Vienna.  Then  we  clatter 
out  into  the  daylight  of  an  open  street,  and  our  horses 
shy  at  the  unwonted  apparition  of  a  tramway  car,  such  a 
horse-car  as  one  meets  in  the  streets  of  Boston  in  the 
summer-time,  with  transverse  seats,  freighted  with  Per- 
sians, half  hidden  by  the  flapping  white  curtains.  A  high 
archway  decorated  with  plaques  of  modern  faience  repre- 
senting the  mythological  heroes  of  Iran  and  Persian  sol- 
diers of  to-day,  leads  to  the  great  oblong  square  known  as 
the  Tup-Meidan,  and  we  pass  under  it  and  cross  the 
square,  leaving  on  our  right  the  richly  decorated  palace 
of  the  Imperial  Bank  of  Persia.  From  this  point  the  dif- 
ferent tramway  lines  start,  and  there  is  a  veritable  cab- 
stand, with  old  and  battered  flacres.  This  square  may  be 
said  to  typify  the  modern  architectural  art  of  the  country, 
and  without  further  detail  it  might  be  characterized  as  an 
astonishing  medley  of  cheap  and  showy  faience,  of  tinted 
and  stuccoed  fayades  of  German  descent,  and  of  all  that 
is  meretricious,  pretentious,  and  grotesque,  recalling,  in  a 
measure,  an  Oriental  background  at  the  Opera  Comique, 
wliere  the  Taj-Mahal,  Benares,  Cairo,  and  Constantinojile 
are  huddled  together  on  one  canvas.  And  yet  the  whole 
effect  is  novel  and  interesting. 

Turnins^  into  a  lono-  straio-ht  avenue,  darkened  bv  over- 
arching  trees,  and  with  European  shops  on  either  side,  we 
ride  on  in  quest  of  a  hotel.  This  is  the  '•  B(^ulevard  des 
Ambassadeurs,"  so  called,  half  in  derision,  by  the  foreign 
colony.  But  it  is  not,  however,  a  misnomer,  for  here  most 
of  the  legations  are  situated,  ending  with  the  imposing 
entrance  to  the  British    Embassv.  and  as  usual    England 


THE    BOULEA'AHD    DES    AMBASSADKURS,  TKHEUAX 


outshines  her  continental  rivals.  This  street  is  an  amusing 
combination  of  semi-European  and  Persian  life ;  the  little 
shops  have  plate-glass  windows  half  filled  with  a  meagre 
but  varied  assortment  of  under-clothing,  kerosene-lamps 
and  gas-fixtures,  hardware,  violins,  and  sheets  of  music ; 
there  is  also  a  well-furnished  barber's  shop,  with  a  fine  as- 
sortment of  cosmetics,  kept  b\'^  an  Armenian  hailing  from 
Stamboul  or  Pera.  There  are  many  high-walled  gardens,  a 
hospital,  guard-houses  for  the  municipal  police,  and  little 
Persian  cafes  or  tea  shoi)s  have  placed  inviting  benches  in 


A  KALEIDOSCOPIC  TOWN  73 

front  of  their  doors,  usually  filled  by  loungers  with  "kal- 
yans,"  or  water-pipes.  The  hotel,  when  found,  does  not 
seem  as  home-like  as  our  own  tent,  and  hearing  of  another 
which  has  just  opened,  we  mount  again  and  follow  our 
guide.  The  sky  has  become  dark  and  gloomy,  threaten- 
ing rain,  the  "  boulevard  "  is  heavy  with  dust  and  fallen 
leaves,  and  the  autumnal  scent  in  the  air  draws  us  in 
fancy  far  from  this  exotic  street  and  back  to  the  avenues 
of  Versailles  or  St.  Cloud  in  chill  October.  At  the  new 
Telegraph  Hotel  we  find  good  cheer  and  a  landlord  who 
takes  a  personal  interest  in  ev^ery  detail. 

The  few  days  passed  in  this  strange  gathering-place  of 
races  left  a  medley  of  abiding  but  somewhat  confused  im- 
pressions. As  in  the  changing  phases  of  a  dream,  the  scenes 
were  rapidly  shifted,  beginning  with  the  joyous  evenings 
in  which  we  were  so  fortunate  as  to  again  enjoy  the  so- 
ciety of  cultured  and  hospitable  Europeans,  where  the 
brilliantly  lighted  drawing-room,  but  for  its  broadside  of 
ancient  Persian  windows,  exquisitely  latticed  and  filled 
in  with  mosaics  of  tinted  glass,  might  have  looked  out  on 
the  Pare  Monceau.  Strange  scenes  flashed  past  as  we 
journeyed  to  remote  quarters  by  the  tramway  lines 
through  stifling  clouds  of  dust.  On  one  of  these  excur- 
sions my  neighbor  was  an  Armenian,  whose  summer  resi- 
dence was  at  Bougival,  adjoining  the  premises  of  Gerome 
the  painter,  and  whose  son  was  a  student  in  his  atelier 
at  the  Beaux-Arts.  A  familiar  face  seen  at  a  gateway 
belonged  to  a  Persian  youth  who  had  posed  for  me  in 
Paris.  A  busy  street  through  which  the  tramway  passed, 
lined  with  nondescript  booths  and  shops,  where  cobblers 
stitched  at  piles  of  old  shoes  in  the  open  air  amid  the 
nameless  litter  of  a  workaday  cosmopolitan  suburb,  looked 
strangely  familiar  to  us  both.  My  companion  thought  lie 
had  seen  its  like  in  South  America,  while  I  remembered 


74  A  REAL  PARISIENNE 

similar  quarters  in  Bombay  or  Lahore,  where  the  advanc- 
ing: tide  of  Eno^lish  civilization  leaves  a  shore -mark  of 
"  Cheap  Jack"  shops. 

The  last  afternoon  was  passed  in  driving  about  in  a 
fiacre,  executing  last  commissions  and  filling  the  car- 
riage with  bundles.  In  the  windows  of  one  shop  a  varied 
line  of  goods  was  displayed,  from  artists'  materials  and 
fancy  stationery  to  canned  provisions,  hosiery,  and  woollen 
under -garments ;  and  I  had  a  brief  encounter  with  the 
voluble  little  Frenchwoman  within,  who  got  the  better 
of  me  in  a  bargain  for  winter  flannels.  The  imposing 
gilt  sign  of  Madame  Chose,  Modiste,  glittered  over  a  shop 
across  the  tramway  tracks.  In  order  to  fully  appreciate 
the  cost  of  this  exotic  luxury  of  Teheran,  one  should  bear 
in  mind  that  all  the  European  furniture  and  upholstery, 
the  grand  pianos  and  carriages,  the  Parisian  fashions,  and 
even  the  ladies  which  they  adorn,  are  brought  into  Persia 
by  way  of  Tiflis  and  the  Caspian  Sea  to  Resht,  and  trans- 
ported on  beasts  of  burden  over  the  terrible  Kharzan 
Pass,  so  often  blocked  with  snow.  A  fine  drizzle  had  set 
in  as  we  drove  back  to  the  hotel  along  a  dreary  and  un- 
finished boulevard,  where  the  chill  wind  and  falling  leaves 
presaged  the  coming  of  a  winter  which  we  hoped  soon 
to  escape  in  the  summer  of  India. 

October  6th. — We  have  left  Teheran  far  behind,  and 
have  resumed  once  more  the  familiar  home  life  of  the 
tent. 

Having  passed  the  last  outlying  gardens  and  grave- 
yards, we  enter  again  the  same  vast  landscape  which  we 
left  on  the  other  side,  and  which  stretches  endlessly  be- 
fore us.  The  city,  with  its  hurry  and  bustle,  its  dark  and 
teeming  bazaars,  seems  already  but  a  brief  episode  in  a 
long  nomadic  existence,  a  dot  upon  the  map.  The  sketch 
which  I  am  trying  to  finish  before  sundown  is  little  more 


DEMAVEND   IN   SIGHT  75 

than  a  hasty  note  descriptive  of  our  present  surround- 
ings— a  long,  battlemented  clav  wall  ending  witli  a  sloping 
tower,  and  the  ploughed  field  in  the  foreground,  are  both 
of  the  same  tone  of  old-gold  from  the  sunset ;  the  field 
is  traversed  bv  lonff  curving:  violet  shadows  cast  bv  the 
ridges  of  dry  earth,  and  the  background  is  closed  in  by 
the  purple  wall  of  the  "  Shimran,''  shadowed  by  a  mighty 
wrack  of  storm  clouds,  and  freshly  powdered  with  newly 
fallen  snow.     Like  a  ghost,  the  pale  cone  of  Demavend 


PKOPLE    WE    MEET    BY    THE    WAY 


appears  and  disappears  with  the  flashes  of  lightning. 
The  road  from  Teheran  is  a  broad  avenue  leading  to  the 
shrine  of  Shah  Abdul  Azim ;  it  is  fringed  with  thickly 
planted  willows  and  poplars,  and  at  times  one  might  al- 
most fancy  one's  self  in  Normandy,  save  for  the  well- 
dressed  Persians  flocking  to  the  sanctuary,  which  is  but 
.1  suburb  of  the  capital,  and  a  pleasure  resort  as  well. 
Tlie  illusion  is  aided  bv  seeino:  throufjh  tlie  trees  the 
smoke  of  the  train   speeding  along  the  only  railway  in 


76  RUGGED  RECOLLECTIONS 

Persia,  which  begins  at  Teheran  and  ends  at  the  tomb 
of  this  favored  saint,  six  miles  from  the  city.  Leaving 
behind  the  gilded  dome  of  the  sanctuary  and  the  muddy 
streets  of  the  village,  we  encamped  well  out  in  the  open 
countr\\ 

October  9th. — A  brief  statement  to  the  effect  that  we 
had  just  traversed  another  desert  would  justly  seem  but 
monotonous  repetition.  But  this  desert  is  the  ver}^  quin- 
tessence of  all,  and  though  its  like  may  be  seen  in  the 
Sahara  and  in  Colorado,  it  never  fails  to  impress  every 
traveller  who  journeys  to  Ispahan.  It  is  "  a  land  of  des- 
erts and  of  pits,  a  land  of  drought  and  the  shadow  of 
death,  a  land  that  no  man  passed  through,  and  where  no 
man  dwells."  One  forbidding  landscape  I  particularly 
remember.  We  came  out  from  some  narrow  defile  and 
halted  for  a  moment  to  look  down  over  steep  and  arid 
slopes,  across  a  broad  and  straight  river  valley,  through 
which  ran  a  slender  blue  thread  of  water,  to  the  long 
fortress-like  cliffs  which  upheld  the  plateau  beyond.  Tier 
above  tier,  and  level-topped,  these  cliffs  rose  in  successive 
graded  terraces  one  above  another,  regularly  seamed  with 
vertical  fissures  like  the  folds  of  sculptured  drapery,  ex- 
tending far  across  the  horizon,  until  their  converging  lines 
seemed  to  fade  and  melt  into  the  sky.  And  again  the 
landscape  utterly  changed  in  character,  when  from  a  deep 
and  stony  gorge  we  emerged  upon  water- worn  and  crum- 
bling volcanic  cliffs,  where  the  then  projecting  shelves  of 
rock  would  scarcely  bear  one's  weight,  and  so  high  that 
the  eye  ranged  far  over  a  level  plain,  black  and  shining 
as  if  floored  with  coal-dust,  to  the  white  glitter  of  an  in- 
land sea.  In  spite  of  the  brilliant  sun  the  wind  was  cold 
and  piercing,  and  Hadji,  the  stout  Tatar  chavadar,  bent 
over  his  saddle  as  if  in  pain.  When  we  had  at  last 
reached  the  village,  and  had  chosen  a  camping-ground  on 


IN   THE  TOILS 


77 


a  narrow  and  stony  garden  terrace  hardly  wide  enougli 
for  the  tent,  Hadji  fell  on  his  face  and  lay  motionless  on 
the  ground.  He  was  in  a  raging  fever,  and  as  the  cook 
was  also  on  the  sick-list,  we  had  to  struggle  with  the  tent 
ourselves  in  the  roaring  wind, 

Kushk-i- Bahram,  Octoher  11th. — We  are  still  short- 
handed,  and  do  much  of  the  work  ourselves.  Hadji  is 
flushed  and  burning,  and  has  stretched  himself  out  in  a 
niche  in  the  wall  of  the  superb  caravansary,  where  we 


THK   nATUINGTANK    OF   THK    CARAVANSARY — f.ATK    AtTKRNOON 


78  DESOLATION 

dose  him  with  "  Cockle's  Pills,"  quinine,  and  hot  tea.  By 
way  of  variety,  this  is  a  sandy  desert  which  surrounds 
us,  and  adjoining  the  caravansary  a  circular  tank  mirrors 
the  deep  blue  of  the  sky,  and  on  its  stone  curb  tired  trav- 
ellers and  muleteers  are  bathing  in  the  water  or  stretched 
out  asleep. 

,  Kmn,  October  12th. — This  last  section  of  the  wagon 
road  from  Teheran  is  in  better  repair,  and  passes  between 
well  -  irrigated  fields,  leading  up  to  the  golden  dome  of 
Fatima,  which  rises  straight  in  front,  between  slender 
tiled  minarets.  Kum  is  one  of  the  most  hallowed  spots 
in  Persia,  and  its  peculiar  sanctity  as  the  mausoleum  of 
many  kings  has  made  it  a  place  of  pilgrimage,  as  well  as 
a  last  resting-place  for  pious  believers  who  can  afford  to 
have  their  bodies  brought  here  after  death.  But  we  met 
but  few  of  the  corpse  caravans  of  malodorous  repute,  as 
they  mostly  journey  by  night,  fortunately  for  our  shying 
horses. 

Kashan,  October  IJith. — Another  ruined  city.  Many  of 
the  bazaars  through  which  we  passed  on  our  way  to  the 
camping -ground  had  been  long  empty  and  in  the  last 
stages  of  decay.  The  road  on  the  other  side  of  the  town 
is  like  a  deep  channel  between  high  banks  of  clay,  and 
we  were  at  first  puzzled  by  huge  mounds,  which  proved 
to  be  used  for  storing  ice  during  the  summer  months. 
From  the  level  of  the  upland,  where  the  tents  are  placed 
on  the  very  brink  of  a  steep  bluff,  the  distant  cone  of 
Demavend  is  still  in  sight.  Since  leaving  Teheran  the 
sky  has  become  cloudless  again,  and  the  white  pyramid, 
nearly  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles  to  the  northward, 
hangs  like  a  cloud  in  the  sky,  seemingly  detached  from 
the  earth,  while  the  high  range  of  the  Shimran,  which 
nearly  masked  it  at  Teheran,  although  thirteen  thousand 
feet  in  height,  has  dwindled  down  to  a  dim  gray  line. 


IN   VERDURE  CLAD  79 

KuTcrud,  Oetoher  loth. — Filing  through  a  deep  valley, 
of  which  one  side  lies  under  the  grateful  shadow  of  almost 
perpendicular  cliffs,  and  climbing  a  steep,  paved  causeway 
like  a  lioman  road,  we  find  the  valley  walled  across  by 
a  huge  mass  of  masonry.  This  is  the  great  dam,  or 
'"Bund,"  built  in  the  reign  of  Shah  Abbas,  who  seems 
to  have  been  as  great  a  builder  as  Shah  Jehan  of  India. 
It  was  intended  to  irrigate  the  plain  of  Kashan  by  means 
of  sluices.  As  we  turned  into  this  valley  we  lost  sight 
of  Demavend.  Once  over  the  wall,  and  we  descend  into  a 
second  and  longer  valley,  resembling  in  character  the  high 
stony  slopes  of  the  Alps  below  the  snow-line.  Mounting 
still  higher,  the  road  commands  a  view  of  emerald-green 
meadows  and  inviting  gardens  far  below.  Hadji  has 
already  gone  on  with  the  servant  to  choose  the  ground, 
and  as  we  follow,  leaving  the  baggage  animals  behind, 
the  walls  of  bare  and  splintered  rock,  which  rise  steeply 
on  either  side,  almost  shut  out  the  afternoon  sun,  while 
the  road  plunges  downward,  and  at  once  enters  a  green 
twilight  of  overarching  boughs.  This  is  a  new  and  un- 
expected phase  of  Persia.  The  thickly  planted  orciiards  of 
mulberry  and  other  fruit  trees  rise  in  terraces  on  either  hand 
quite  to  the  base  of  the  rocky  walls.  Venerable  walnut- 
trees  with  huge  and  gnarled  trunks  stand  among  the 
rocks  green  with  moss  and  spattered  with  lichens,  and 
mountain  brooks  ripple  over  the  stones. 

Tired  of  being  alone,  my  horse,  who  has  been  listening 
eagerly  for  the  sound  of  the  bells,  lifts  u))  his  voice  and 
whinnies  loudly.  Tliis  demonstration  evokes  a  chorus  of 
answering  neighs  from  the  other  horses  far  on  in  the 
wood,  which  sets  his  mind  at  rest,  and  he  trots  on  until 
we  find  them  waiting  near  the  village  on  a  ])iece  of  l)are 
ground,  under  giant  walnut-trees.  Althougli  the  altitude 
of  this  village  is  given  as  T2.")U  feet,  the  cold  at  night  is 


80  STRANGE   LANDMARKS 

not  SO  great  as  we  expected,  owing  to  the  sheltering  trees 
and  the  walls  of  the  pass  above.  The  village,  a  compact 
mass  of  square  huts  built  in  ascending  terraces,  rises 
steeply  against  the  rocky  cliffs  behind. 


IV 

Ispahan,  October  Wth. — Upon  the  plain  which  we  now 
entered  there  was  a  number  of  heavily  proportioned 
round  towers,  each  with  a  smaller  turret  at  the  top. 
These  strange  landmarks,  rising  from  the  dense  foliage 
of  parklike  gardens,  had  the  effect  of  mediaeval  fortress 
towers,  but,  unlike  the  giants  of  La  Mancha,  they  proved 
to  be  not  windmills,  but  only  pigeon  -  roosts.  We  were 
an  hour  or  more  in  traversing  the  girdle  of  villages  and 
the  first  bazaars,  but  we  finally  reached  the  heart  of  the 
city,  where,  passing  through  an  archway  under  a  lofty 
palace,  we  came  out  at  the  beginning  of  a  long  straight 
avenue  or  boulevard,  shaded  by  several  lines  of  great 
trees.  Down  the  centre  of  this  great  highway  runs  a  canal, 
flanked  by  slabs  of  stone,  expanding  into  tanks  or  ponds 
at  regular  intervals.  On  all  sides  stand  ruined  palaces 
and  gateways,  the  remains  of  former  architectural  mag- 
nificence, pathetic  souvenirs  of  the  days  when  Ispahan 
was  the  seat  of  the  most  sumptuous  court  in  the  world. 
But  it  has  never  recovered  from  tlie  successive  depreda- 
tions of  Jenghis  Khan,  of  Timour,  and,  later  still,  the  hor- 
rors of  the  Afghan  invasion.  As  late  as  the  seventeenth 
century  it  is  said  to  have  had  over  a  million  inhabitants. 
As  we  descend  the  avenue,  through  the  checkered  light 
and  shadow  of  the  towering  chenar-trees,  we  note  a  richly 
decorated  fa9ade  crowned  with  a  lofty  pillared  hall  or 
"loggia";  the  ceiling,  which  we  can  see  from  the  street,  is 
still  in  good  preservation,  resembling  in  its  exquisite  de- 


SILVER    DOOK    OK    TItE    COM.KUE    OK    ISPAHAN 


82  A  THING  OF  BEAUTY 

sign  and  scintillating  color,  the  silken  shawls  of  Scinde, 
in  which  bits  of  glass  sparkle  among  rosettes  of  delicate 
embroidery.  Ruined  gateways  of  elaborate  design,  still 
patched  in  places  with  brilliant  tiles,  or  with  fragments 
of  painting  adhering  to  the  walls,  open  into  neglected 
gardens  of  rank  luxuriance.  But  the  most  imposing 
monument  of  this  avenue,  which  was  known  as  the 
"  Chehar  Bagh,"  is  the  great  Madrasseh  i  Shah  Hussein, 
or  college  for  the  education  of  dervishes.  The  exterior 
walls  on  either  side  of  the  lofty  portal  are  relieved  by- 
panels  of  faience,  and  the  windows  are  of  latticed  wood. 
The  pointed  arch  of  the  deep  recess  in  which  is  the  en- 
trance is  decorated  with  the  stalactite  forms  familiar  in 
Arabian  art.  The  lower  part  of  this  recess  is  panelled 
with  white  marble,  and  above  with  rich  and  intricate  de- 
signs in  tile- work ;  the  door  itself  is  incrusted  with  silver 
richly  wrought.  The  beautiful  dome  of  shining  blue,  with 
a  running  design  of  yellow  curving  arabesques,  has  lost 
half  of  its  coating  of  faience,  and  one  of  the  golden  balls 
on  the  top.  They  are  believed  by  the  citizens  to  be  of 
solid  gold,  and  the  story  goes  that  one  of  them  was  stolen 
by  its  guardians  and  sold  to  an  English  tourist.  Within 
the  entrance  are  fruit-stalls  and  samov^ars,  where  tea  is 
dispensed  to  the  faithful.  I  afterwards  visited  the  in- 
terior, and  saw  the  students  poring  over  their  books  in 
the  cloistered  niches,  or  sitting  with  their  kal^^ans  around 
the  tank  under  the  tall  poplars  of  the  court.  This  great 
avenue  was  once  the  "Champs  Elysees"  of  Ispahan, 
where  the  rank  and  fashion  of  the  city  flocked  on  sum- 
mer evenings,  and  congregated  about  the  cafes  and  in 
the  tea-gardens,  some  of  which  still  survive.  But  now, 
many  of  the  great  trees  have  been  cut  down  for  fire- 
wood, the  stone  fountains  are  broken,  and  much  of  the 
curbing    has    disappeared.      There    are    mud -holes    and 


A  FINE   BRIDGE  83 

ditches  in  the  roadway,  and  the  tanks  are  morasses 
choked  with  tall  reeds,  rotting  vegetation,  and  thick 
green  slime,  among  which  the  frogs  pipe  in  ceaseless  and 
melancholy  chorus.  Still  beautiful  in  its  pathetic  and 
hopeless  decay,  no  spot  in  the  world  could  appeal  more 
touchingly  to  the  imagination,  for  what  is  left  is  suificient 
to  show  that  it  was  once  the  perfect  flower  of  Persian  art. 
At  the  end  of  this  avenue  we  cross  the  river  by  a 
long  bridge.  Although  this  is  the  age  of  bridge-build- 
ing, when  miracles  have  been  wrought  in  iron,  one  must 
go  to  Ispahan  to  reahze  that  a  bridge  may  be  a  work  of 
artistic  beauty.  Curzon  says,  "  One  would  hardly  ex- 
pect to  have  to  travel  to  Persia  to  see  what  may  in  all 
probability  be  termed  the  stateliest  bridge  in  the  world," 
and  "  its  entire  length  is  3S8  yards ;  the  breadth  of  the 
paved  roadway  is  thirty  feet.*'  This  is  the  bridge  of  Ali 
Verdi  Khan,  and  it  still  triumphs  over  time  and  decay,  built 
as  it  is  of  solid  masonry,  with  nearly  a  hundred  pointed 
arches  supporting  an  arcaded  gallery.  The  broad  boule- 
vard still  continues  on  the  other  side,  with  its  broken  con- 
duits, its  great  shells  of  ruined  palaces,  mounting  grad- 
uall}"^  the  slope  of  the  desert  plain  towards  the  tall 
purple  crag  of  precipitous  and  striking  outline,  which 
towers  above  the  landscape  as  Arthur's  Seat  rises  over 
Edinburgh.  It  was  noon  and  intensely  hot  as  we  turned 
into  the  path  on  the  left,  which  borders  the  river.  The 
broad  and  stony  but  dry  bed  of  the  stream  was  carpeted 
for  a  great  distance  with  the  stam])ed  cotton  prints, 
fresh  from  the  dyers'  vats  along  the  banks,  which  are 
now  so  familiar  in  our  own  markets.  They  are  spread 
out  to  dry  in  the  sun,  and  to  the  highly  colored  land- 
scape they  add  a  foreground  of  vivid  and  startling  color, 
of  which  rich  Venetian  red  is  the  key-note.  P>eyoiul  tiiis 
are  a  distant  blue  line  of  water,  a  fringe  of  poplars,  and  tlic 


84  AN  IDEAL  CAMP 

turquoise  domes  of  Ispahan,  and  over  all  the  profound 
blue  sky. 

Passing  the  decaying  palace  of  the  "  Aineh  Khaneh," 
we  ford  the  river  and  halt  in  a  lovely  spot,  high  above  the 
water  and  shaded  by  great  trees.  Here  the  tents  are 
pitched,  and,  leaving  my  companion  to  rest,  I  set  out  to 
explore  the  neighborhood. 

Before  .  us,  across  the  river,  stands  the  stately  Aineh 
Khaneh.  In  front  of  the  main  fabric,  with  its  square 
mass  of  yellow  stone,  pierced  by  latticed  windows, 
adorned  within  and  without  by  tile-work,  and  by  crum- 
bling and  smoke-blackened  frescos,  projects  a  lofty  pil- 
lared hall  or  loggia,  open  on  all  sides  but  one  to  the  wind 
and  the  light.  Its  flat  roof  rests  upon  slender  shafts  of 
cedar,  with  bases  formed  of  sculptured  marble  lions. 

The  ceiling  retains  much  of  its  original  color  and  its 
glittering  decoration  of  glass  mosaic.  An  army  of  tents, 
the  encampment  of  a  Persian  general,  stands  on  one  side, 
above  the  water,  and  in  the  background  rise  the  serrated 
and  purple  crags.  Near  the  palace  stands  a  single  tower- 
ing pine,  the  only  black  note  in  this  matchless  landscape. 
Continuing  along  the  bank,  we  come  to  a  second  stately 
bridge,  crossed  by  another  long  avenue,  starting  from  the 
great  square  in  the  middle  of  the  city,  and  finally  losing 
itself,  like  the  first,  among  ruins  in  the  desert  plain 
beyond.  This  bridge  is  called  the  Pul-i-Khaju,  and  al- 
though, less  than  half  the  length  of  the  other,  it  is,  to 
my  mind,  a  much  more  beautiful  and  decorative  feature 
in  the  landscape.  Like  the  first  bridge,  it  is  two  stories 
in  height,  built  on  a  platform,  which  descends  in  a  series 
of  steps  to  the  water  on  either  side ;  this  substructure  is 
cut  by  channels  through  which  the  water  flows  under 
each  arch.  But  the  original  and  novel  features  of  this 
bridge  are  its  hexagonal  towers  at  each  end  and  in  the 


PICTURESQUE  SURROUNDINGS 


85 


middle,  which  give  rise  to  unexpected  and  picturesque 
angles.  In  these  expansions  of  the  upper  story  are  richl\' 
decorated  chambers,  formerly  used  as  cafes,  and  the  whole 
bridge  is  gay  from  end  to  end  with  colored  tiles.  The 
platform  on  the  east  side  is  still,  as  in  old  days,  a  favor- 
ite resort  and  lounging-place  in  the  afternoon.  Veiled 
women,  wrapj^ed  in  long  blue  garments,  still  look  down 
from  the  upper  windows  on  the  life  below.  ^len  are 
bathing  on  the  steps,  or  sitting  with  tea-glasses  and  water- 


PCL-I-KHAJf    BRIDGK,  ISPAHAN 


pipes  around  the  cafe  at  one  end,  while  gayly  caparisoned 
horsemen  clatter  over  the  pavement  of  the  bridge  and  up 
the  avenue  which  leads  to  the  city. 

Let  us  follow  them  under  the  battered  gateway,  which 
replaces  some  former  monumental  entrance,  and  we  shall 
find  ourselves  in  another  boulevard,  shaded  by  chenar-trees 
and  poplars  of  great  height.  The  border  of  the  canal, 
save  for  the  occasional  sloughs,  answers  the  purpose  of  a 
sidewalk.      The   palaces   and   gateways    which    formerly 


86  ORIENTAL  COLOR  VALUES 

adorned  it  have  been  replaced  by  more  modern  and  paltry 
structures,  or  by  long  walls.  The  oldest  trees  have  been 
cut  down,  and  a  double  avenue  of  ancient  rose-trees 
beneath  them  has  also  disappeared.  From  the  upper  end 
of  this  street  a  series  of  narrow  lanes,  passing  at  one 
place  under  a  gate  flanked  by  round  towers,  leads  into 
the  labyrinth  of  bazaars,  and  gradually,  as  we  advance, 
the  noise  and  bustle  increase  till  we  reach  an  opening 
by  which  we  enter  the  Meidan,  the  great  open  square,  or 
rather  plaza,  which  is  the  very  centre  of  the  city's  life. 
This  open  space  is  560  yards  in  length  by  174  in  breadth, 
(to  use  Curzon's  figures).  Flanked  at  intervals  along  the 
sides  and  at  both  ends  by  imposing  and  beautiful  archi- 
tectural fabrics,  symmetrically  planned  with  an  eye  to 
cumulative  effect,  it  still  remains  an  enduring  monument 
of  the  departed  glory  of  Ispahan. 

At  one  end  of  this  square,  or  parallelogram  rather,  and 
occupying  the  central  space,  stands  the  great  "  Mosque  of 
Lutfullah."  The  arched  portal,  at  the  bottom  of  which 
is  the  entrance,  is  in  a  recess  which  bows  inward  hex- 
agonally,  leaving  space  for  a  tank  in  front.  Above  this 
portal,  and  set  at  a  different  angle,  is  the  higher  entrance 
of  the  inner  sanctuary ;  and  the  dome,  between  two  slender 
minarets,  rises  above  the  great  pile.  The  entire  building 
is  covered  with  mosaic  of  beautiful  faience.  Even  the  sta- 
lactite-work within  the  pointed  arches  is  also  coated  with 
tiles.  About  the  entrance  are  panels  of  the  same  lustrous 
mosaic,  but  finer  and  more  elaborate  in  detail,  resembling 
in  rich  and  restful  harmony  of  color  the  ancient  prayer- 
carpets,  where  blue  and  yellow  designs  are  relieved  upon 
a  dull  black  ground.  A  low  parapet  of  white  marble 
fences  off  the  space  in  front  of  the  entrance.  On  fete 
days,  when  crowds  and  processions  are  passing  in  and 
out,  and  richly  caparisoned  horses  are  grouped  in  front  of 


KXTIJANCK    TO    THK    (iKAM)    IIAZAAK    AT    ISPAHAN 


88  A  HARVEST  OF   FRUIT 

the  low  marble  wall,  this  spot  has  the  charm  of  a  picture, 
in  which  the  moving  groups  of  men  and  horses  are  out- 
lined in  light  against  the  great  blue  pile  in  sombre 
shadow.  At  the  opposite  end  of  the  place  a  lofty  tiled 
gateway,  flanked  by  highly  decorated  and  recessed  walls, 
opens  into  the  great  bazaar.  A  tank  in  front  reflects 
all  this  splendid  color,  and  the  angular  and  unexpected 
masses  of  shadow  cast  by  the  multitude  of  colored  and 
faded  awnings  projecting  from  the  walls,  as  well  as  the 
crowds  about  the  margin  and  the  shops  on  each  side. 
On  my  first  entrance  into  this  square  I  was  accosted  in 
good  English  by  an  Armenian  shopkeeper  from  Julfa, 
where  the  European  colony  resides,  who  offered  to  show 
me  something  of  the  city.  Together  we  stroll  through 
the  bazaars,  entering  the  sunlit  courts  of  the  great  cara- 
vansaries, fascinating  in  their  wealth  of  color  and  detail, 
back  again  into  the  crowded  corridors,  which  are  less 
gloomy  than  usual,  as  the  vaulted  roofs  are  often  white- 
washed and  adorned  with  rude  painted  arabesques,  and 
sometimes  with  great  mural  pictures,  representing  myth- 
ological subjects  and  battle  scenes.  An  all  -  perv^ading 
odor  of  ripe  fruit  fills  the  air,  for  it  is  now  the  height  of 
the  season,  and  the  fruit-stalls  are  overflowing  with 
melons  of  every  size  and  color,  and  with  piles  of  mag- 
nificent muscatel  grapes  and  crimson  pomegranates.  All 
Persia  is  strewn  with  melon  rinds  just  now,  not  only  in 
the  cities,  but  along  the  mule  tracks  in  the  desert.  The 
aroma  which  hangs  about  the  cook-shops  gives  evidence 
that  the  citizens  of  Ispahan  have  a  high  standard  of  culi- 
nary excellence,  and  the  steaming  saddles  of  roast  mutton 
or  lamb,  with  the  outer  crust  done  to  a  delicious  brown, 
and  daintily  cut  into  fantastic  patterns,  would  grace  the 
table  of  any  Parisian  restaurant.  In  one  of  the  most 
crowded  spots,  at  the  intersection  of  three  different  thor- 


A    PERSIAN    EXECUTIONER  89 

oughfares,  under  a  lofty  dome,  a  group  of  men  are  sitting 
in  front  of  a  number  of  large  trays  containing  viands  of 
appetizing  and  seductive  aspect.  One  has  the  appearance 
of  a  pudding  garnished  with  jelly  and  geometric  designs 
of  colored  fruits,  another  seems  to  be  a  highly  decorated 
species  of  "  pilau."  We  learn  that  they  are  the  remnants 
of  some  rich  man's  feast,  and  are  the  perquisites  of  the 
chief  cook,  sent  here  for  sale. 

In  the  long  copper  bazaar,  with  its  deafening  din  and 
clatter  of  metal,  we  come  to  the  door  of  a  crowded  and 
tumultuous  cafe,  through  which  the  verdure  of  a  garden 
beyond  invites  repose.  While  we  are  waiting  for  our  tea, 
a  well-dressed  Persian,  accompanied  by  one  or  two  fol- 
lowers, saunters  in.  He  has  a  rather  brutal  but  good- 
natured  face,  and  his  long,  light  overcoat  is  of  the  most 
fashionable  tint.  He  salutes  my  guide,  who  tells  me  that 
he  is  the  chief  executioner,  the  Monsieur  Deibler  of 
Ispahan,  and  upon  our  solicitation  he  seats  himself  at  our 
table,  and  enters  into  conversation  with  my  guide.  In  the 
course  of  a  light  and  airy  discussion  of  the  popular 
methods  of  "working  off"  the  victims  of  justice  em- 
ployed in  other  countries,  he  evinces  a  critical  apprecia- 
tion of  the  neat  despatch  with  which  the  guillotine  does  its 
work,  and  is  most  keenly  interested  in  the  process  of  elec- 
trocution, the  last  fairy  tale  of  Western  science.  But  his 
face  clouds  up  as  he  complains  that  his  business  has  been 
"  verv  bad "  of  late.  It  frequentl}^  happens,  to  explain 
this  state  of  things,  that  when  a  criminal  has  been  con- 
demned, a  number  of  merchants  club  together  and  buy 
him  off  by  offering  a  large  sum  of  money  to  the  prince 
as  a  ransom.  The  released  culprit  then  becomes  their 
slave  for  life.  On  the  other  hand,  when  nothing  inter- 
rupts the  course  of  justice,  the  executioner  arrays  him- 
self in  crimson  garments,  and,  being  a  tender-hearted  man 


90 


OFFICIAL   BLACKMAIL 


in  spite  of  his  roughhewn  face,  be  is  obliged  to  fortify 
bis  nerves  witb  strong  drink  before  be  can  give  tbe  fatal 
stroke  of  tbe  sword.  He  tben  places  tbe  bead  of  bis 
victim  in  a  tray,  and  makes  tbe  round  of  tbe  bazaars, 
tbrusting  it  into  every  sbop,  and,  according  to  custom, 
eacb  merchant  is  obliged  to  put  down  a  piece  of  money, 
tbus  swelling  bis  receipts  to  wbat  is  often  an  important 
sum. 


THEODORE    CHILD 


Odoher  '25th. — All  day  tbe  tent  bas  been  littered  with 
bric-a-brac,  embroideries,  inlaid  boxes,  metal -Avork,  and 
strange  little  souvenirs,  for  which  we  have  bargained  and 
haggled  witb  the  itinerant  merchants,  who  bring  their 
treasures  in  saddle-bags  and  on  donkeys.    They  are  bang- 


A    PREMONITION  91 

ing  about  the  kitchen  tent,  and  ingratiating  themselves 
with  the  servants.  No  sooner  do  we  dispose  of  one  than 
another  turns  up  smiling,  and  salaaming  at  the  tent  door. 
We  are  anxious  to  get  away  in  spite  of  the  open  Ikjs- 
pitalit}'  of  our  kind  friends  at  Julfa,  for  it  is  now  certain 
that  this  spot  is  unhealthy,  and  the  nights  are  becoming 
bitterly  cold.  Although  there  seems  to  be  not  even  a 
suspicion  of  dampness  in  the  clear  air,  for  we  have  care- 
fully examined  the  exterior  canvas  of  the  tent  as  well  as 
the  grass  around  us  late  at  night  and  before  sunrise,  and 
found  everything  quite  dry,  yet  there  must  be  some  mala- 
rious influence  at  work.  Each  one  of  us  has  felt  it  in  a 
different  way ;  the  servants  and  muleteers  have  all  had 
touches  of  fever,  and  the  health  of  my  companion  has 
become  strangely  affected,  so  that  we  are  both  looking 
forward  to  the  purer  air  of  the  high  ridges  which  we  shall 
cross  on  the  way  to  Shiraz. 

Note. — Marc/,  Xovember  2d. — It  was  here  in  this  rock-bound  desert 
that  Mr.  Child  felt  the  first  approach  of  the  fatal  illness  which  soon 
developed  into  typhoid  fever.  In  response  to  my  urgent  appeal  for 
helj),  addressed  to  our  friends  at  Julfa,  nearly  forty  miles  from  our  last 
camp,  and  carried  by  a  runner  from  the  village,  a  medical  assistant 
was  at  once  .sent.  Although  he  rode  at  full  speed  for  the  wliolc  dis;- 
tance,  he  arrived  too  late,  and  my  friend  died  as  we  were  carrying  him 
by  easy  stages  to  Julfa,  but,  happily,  unconscious  of  suffering. 


FROM   ISPAHAN  TO  KURRACIIEE 


The  kindly  and  sympathetic  welcome  which  I  found  at 
the  mission  did  much  to  render  more  endurable  the  pain- 
ful circumstances  attending  my  return  to  Julfa.  Had  I 
brought  the  cholera  itself  with  me  it  would  have  made 
no  shade  of  difference  in  the  warmth  of  my  reception, 
either  by  Dr.  Bruce*  or  by  the  ladies  of  his  household. 
Whatever  arguments  may  be  brought  forward,  justly  or 
unjustly,  against  the  utility  of  foreign  missions  in  general, 
there  can  be  no  shadow  of  doubt  as  to  the  beneficent 
results  of  their  work  in  Persia.  During  the  recent  epi- 
demic at  Tabreez  the  Medical  Department  of  the  Ameri- 
can mission,  then  under  the  direction  of  Miss  Bradford, 
did  noble  work,  and  it  was  to  her  constant  care  and  un- 
tiring energy,  as  well  as  to  the  devotion  of  our  Armenian 
friend,  that  two  of  our  party  owed  their  recovery  from 
Asiatic  cholera.  And  after  hearing  so  many  sensational 
histories  of  Kurdish  atrocities  from  Europeans  along  our 

*  I  feel  that  I  may,  wilbout  committing  any  indiscretion,  mention 
Dr.  Bruce  by  name,  since  he  has  been  so  long  identified  with  Julfa,  and 
every  recent  work  on  Persia  has  added  something  to  his  fame.  Curzon 
says  :  "  This  mission  is  under  the  control  of  the  well-known  and  greatly 
respected  Dr.  Bruce,  of  whom  it  may  be  said  that  he  is  as  good  a  type 
as  can  anywhere  be  seen  of  the  nineteenth-century  crusader.  In  an  ear- 
lier age  the  red  cross  would  have  been  upon  his  shouldei",  and  he  would 
liave  been  hewing  infidels  in  conflict  for  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  instead  of 
translating  the  Bible  and  teaching  in  schools  at  Julfa." 


GOOD   SAMARITANS  9^ 

route,  a  new  light  was  thrown  on  that  subject  when  we 
met  at  least  two  American  ladies  connected  with  the 
mission  who  had  travelled  about  amono^  Kurdish  vilhiires 
regardless  of  exposure,  healing  their  sick,  and  striving  to 
better  the  condition  of  their  women.  Whatever  sect  thev 
may  belong  to,  the  men  and  women  who  have  devoted 
their  lives  to  this  cause  have  shown  themselves  to  be  ab- 
solutely fearless  in  the  discharge  of  duty  ;  their  record  is 
one  of  self-sacrifice  and  pluck,  and  they  represent  most 
worthily  the  church  militant. 

Mr.  Rabino,  the  active  head  of  the  Imperial  Bank  of 
Persia,  says,  in  a  letter  from  Teheran :  "  I  enclose  you 
various  letters  and  reports  from  the  American  Presbyte- 
rian missionaries,  for  whose  courageous  and  devoted  labors 
I,  an  Englishman  and  a  Catholic,  can  find  no  words  to 
express  my  admiration.  Their  hospital  was  positively  the 
only  organization  for  the  help  of  this  terribly  visited  city." 
To  supplement  his  statement  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  add 
that  these  modern  Templars  have  had  no  incentive  in  the 
shape  of  pecuniary  gain,  no  stimulus  in  the  guise  of  social 
success,  and  not  even  the  poor  reward  of  publicity.  Their 
names  will  never  be  inscribed  in  the  Court  Gazette  of  any 
local  four  hundred ;  and  the  press  of  their  own  country, 
occupied  with  the  conduct  and  bearing  of  its  social  lead- 
ers, the  presence  of  royalty,  and  other  matters  of  vital  im- 
portance, has  no  space  to  chronicle  deeds  which,  if  per- 
formed by  another  race  and  in  another  age,  Avould  have 
been  held  worthy  of  undying  fame." 

*  In  the  same  letter  Mr.  Kabino  says:  "It  may  interest  j^our  read- 
ers to  learn  that  Sir  .Joseph  D.  Tholozan.  K.C.M.G.,  who  has  been  the 
Shah's  physician  for  over  thirty  years,  and  a  student  of  cholera  fi>r  near- 
ly fifty  years  (he  is  a  Frenchman,  and  was  formerly  an  army  surircon), 
has,  after  long  reflection  and  study,  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  real 
centre  or  focus  of  cholera  is  not  India  but  Central  Asia— /.«,.,  Samarcand 


94  MISSION  INFLUENCE 

Julfa,  November  5th. — Julfa  is  a  suburb  of  Ispahan 
distant  about  three  miles  from  that  city.  Originally  an 
Armenian  settlement,  it  is  still  the  headquarters  of  that 
Christian  sect,  and  it  is  also  the  residence  of  the  European 
colony  of  Ispahan.  Although  the  Julfa  Armenians  are 
accredited  by  some  travellers  with  most  of  the  vices  ap- 
pertaining to  Christians,  and  with  but  few  of  their  virt- 
ues, yet  the  faces  one  meets  in  the  lanes  of  that  leaf}'- 
retreat  have  an  intelligent  and  friendly  character  which 
one  does  not  often  encounter  in  the  bazaars  of  other 
cities,  and  the  fact  that  so  many  of  the  viDagers  speak 
excellent  English  or  French  shows  the  influence  of  the 
missions.  It  was  now  advisable,  for  many  reasons,  to 
make  an  early  start  for  Shiraz.     The  leading  physician 

and  Bokhara.  The  epidemic  from  which  we  suffered  first  appeared  at 
Meshed  ;  coming  from  Afghanistan,  it  crossed  the  Caspian  to  Baku,  and 
also  came  to  Teheran  about  the  same  time.  Tabreez  received  the  infec- 
tion from  the  Caucasus  a  few  days  before  us.  There  were  practically 
but  two  European  doctors  in  towni  to  attend  to  the  community  :  Dr. 
Ooling,  C.M.G.,  of  the  British  Legation,  who  rode  in  from  the  country 
almost  every  day  and  sometimes  at  midnight,  and  Dr.  Basil.  We  of  tlie 
bank  had  a  hard  time  of  it  ;  of  some  one  hundred  persons,  including 
thirty  soldiers,  we  lost  ten  (two  Europeans).  Our  young  fellows  behaved 
splendidly,  nursing  our  sick  day  and  night,  attending  to  them  under  the 
most  painful  circumstances,  closing  their  eyes,  burying  them,  and  read- 
ing the  prayers  for  the  dead.  One  of  our  staff,  a  young  Parsee,  was  all 
over  the  town  attending  natives,  for  which  he  received  a  gold  medal 
from  the  Shah  and  the  title  of  Khan." 

Rev.  Lewis  F.  Esselstyn  says,  in  his  official  report;  "  Some  twenty  or 
more  Europeans  died  in  Teheran.  Some  independent  estimates  place  the 
total  number  of  deaths  in  Teheran  at  13,000,  while  equally  good  author- 
ity places  the  number  at  20,000 ;  perhaps  something  between  the  two 
would  be  nearer  right.  Following  cholera,  there  was  considerable  ty- 
phoid of  a  mild  form  and  dysentery.  Cholera  has  been  very  severe. 
Some  cases  have  been  fatal  in  two  hours  from  the  start,  and  many  in 
twelve.  On  August  25th  [1892]  I  made  the  following  statement :  '  There 
have  been  5000  deaths  in  Meshed  and  12,000  in  Tabreez.'  " 


ON    THK    "CHEIUK    UAfJH,"    ISPAHAN 


96  DISCOMFORTS    OF    TRAVEL 

of  Julfa  had  marked  on  ray  pocket -map  a  number  of 
villages  where  cholera  had  broken  out  along  the  "  chapar 
route."  *  There  were  rumors  of  quarantine — more  to  be 
dreaded,  perhaps,  than  the  remote  chances  of  infection. 
It  had  become  too  cold  at  night  to  sleep  in  the  tents, 
which  were  left  behind,  and  we  were  to  "  put  up  "  at  the 
chapar  khanehs  or  at  the  caravansaries  along  the  road. 
In  order  to  avoid  the  infected  villages,  and  consequently 
the  danger  of  quarantine  in  the  desert,  it  was  advisable 
to  follow  a  somewhat  unfrequented  route,  which  in  this 
country  sometimes  entails  unexpected  adventures.  It 
would  be  quite  incorrect  to  convey  the  impression  that  a 
journey  across  Persia  is  attended  by  any  unusual  risk  or 
exposure.  In  ordinary  times,  and  in  the  cool,  bracing 
weather  of  spring  or  autumn,  few  trips  could  be  more 
agreeable,  and  one  may  carry  along  an  unlimited  quantity 
of  portable  comforts.  But  in  this  case  the  circumstances 
were  exceptional ;  the  attitude  of  the  people  had  not  been 
particularly  friendly  to  Europeans  since  the  fall  of  the 
"  tobacco  monopoly."  Added  to  this,  cold  weather  was 
approaching,  and  there  was  some  chance  of  being  snowed 
up  in  the  passes  should  one  be  delayed  by  quarantine. 
And,  above  all,  after  the  loss  of  my  companion,  which  had 
fallen  so  heavily  upon  me,  I  could  not,  alone,  look  forward 
with  that  keen  interest  and  happy  anticipation  to  the  life 
on  the  road  with  which  we  had  set  out  together,  but  must 
carry  with  me  instead  an  unending  regret  that  he  could 
not  have  lived  to  reach  India,  and  accomplish  what  would 
have  been,  beyond  a  doubt,  his  crowning  work. 


*  Chapar  route,  the  main  line,  provided  with  "chapar  Ithanchs,"  or 
Government  post-liouses,  and  with  roomy  caravansaries  for  travellers. 
This  is  also  the  line  of  the  Indo-European  Telegraph,  where  shelter  or 
assistance  can  always  be  obtained  at  the  stations. 


WE  START  FOR  BUSHIRE  97 


Mayai%  Novemher  6th. — The  caravan  now  consisted  of 
seven  animals  only,  three  mules  and  four  horses,  not  count- 
ing the  donkey  which  the  chavadar  brought  for  his 
own  personal  use.  This  new  chavadar,  Hadj  Ali,  had 
contracted  to  take  me  to  Bushire  in  twenty-one  days,  ex- 
clusive of  the  brief  halt  at  Shiraz  or  other  delays  on  the 
road.  He  was  not  prepossessing,  being  w^all-eyed  and  of 
hang-dog  aspect,  as  well  as  slovenly  and  ragged  in  his 
attire.  Although  he  seemed  quiet  and  tractable  enough 
at  Julfa,  where  the  contract  was  made,  it  soon  appeared 
that  he  was  the  possessor  of  a  most  disagreeable  temper. 
His  ebullitions  of  wrath  may  have  been  due  to  the  circum- 
stance that  he  was  thwarted  in  his  orio^inal  desiirn  of 
being  the  sole  master  of  this  caravan  and  its  movements. 
"We  had  been  advised  long  before  that  when  a  chavadar 
is  engaged  in  this  way,  he  always  expects  to  stop  when 
and  where  he  likes,  and  to  take  rather  more  time  on  the 
road  than  he  has  contracted  for.  Carapet,  a  young  Arme- 
nian of  good  family,  who  had  started  with  us  when  we 
first  left  Ispahan,  and  had  shown  himself  to  be  thoroughly 
trustworthy  in  any  emergency,  had  also  undertaken  to 
cook,  since  no  one  of  good  repute  had  presented  himself 
to  perform  that  function.  It  is  true  that  a  cook  who  was 
anxious  to  go  to  Bushire,  but  whose  reputation  and  ap- 
pearance had  prevented  us  from  engaging  him  in  the  first 
instance,  had  hung  about  till  the  last  moment,  and  had 
then  found  a  place  in  another  caravan  going  the  same 
way.  Had  it  been  possible,  I  would  have  taken  another 
route  rather  than  traverse  the  same  stretch  of  country 
again.  There  was  no  other  way,  and  we  pressed  on  in 
order  to  sleej)  at  3Iayar  the  first  night.     After  passing 


Marg  we  had  the  light  of 
a  full  moon  for  the  rest  of 
the  way,  and,  finding  the 
chapar  station  occupied 
b}'  the  other  caravan,  we 
went  on  to  the  great  ruin- 
ous caravansary  of  Mayar, 
near  our  old  camping- 
ground.    The  baggage  was 

LOWERING    LUGGAGE    FROM    THE    HOUSE-TOP      heapcd      pcll  -  mcll      OU      thC 

^'""^''■''  stone    ledge    within    the 

gateway,  and,  as  it  was  too 
late  to  think  of  dinner,  we  mounted  the  winding  stairway 
to  a  prison-like  cell  above,  swept  by  the  cold  night  wind 
which  blew  through  the  narrow  embrasures ;  but,  wrapped 
in  blankets,  we  were  soon  sound  asleep. 

Kumisheh,  Novemher  7th. — The  chapar  khaneh  which 
we  reach  early  in  the  afternoon  is  worthy  of  a  descrip- 
tion as  a  type  of  its  class.  A  smaller  and  more  cosey 
edition  of  a  caravansary,  it  promises  greater  comfort. 
Around  the  clay  wall  of  the  court -yard   is  a  row   of 


OUR  GUIDE  HAS  A   TEMPER  99 

lozenge-shaped  openings,  where  the  horses  can  put  their 
heads  in  and  reach  their  fodder ;  an  enclosed  plane  leads  to 
the  roof,  where  two  small  rooms,  opening  into  each  other, 
are  built  over  the  gateway.  In  this  instance  the  doors 
can  be  closed,  which  is  unusual,  and  on  the  terrace  out- 
side Oarapet  begins  his  culinary  career,  assisted  b}'^  the 
chief  functionary  of  the  establishment,  whose  Astrakhan 
cap  is  decorated  with  the  badge  of  his  office.  From  the 
balcony  above  the  street  there  is  a  view  over  drab-tinted 
clay  roofs  to  a  steep  crag  a  mile  or  so  beyond,  which, 
from  its  color  and  texture,  appears  to  be  fashioned  of  the 
same  substance  as  the  town.  While  Carapet  is  proceed- 
ing rather  diffidently  with  his  preparations  for  dinner,  as 
if  doubtful  of  his  success,  a  long  caravan  passes  through 
the  street  below.  It  is  the  same  which  started  just  be- 
fore me  from  Julfa,  and  which  had  occupied  the  cliapar 
khaneh  at  Mayar  last  night.  Behind  this  caravan  rides 
Hussein  the  cook  on  a  donkey.  He  is  the  man  whom 
we  had  refused  to  engage  when  we  first  left  Ispahan,  and, 
seeing  us  on  the  terrace  above,  he  steers  his  donkey  into 
the  gateway.  It  seems  that  he  has  lost  his  place  with 
the  other  caravan,  and,  having  hired  his  steed  of  our 
chavadar,  he  hopes  to  follow  us  to  Bushire. 

Maksud-Beggi^  November  8th. — In  order  not  to  stop  at 
Yezdikhast,  the  first  on  the  list  of  infected  villages,  and 
marked  on  the  map  with  two  stars,  doubly  to  be  avoided,  I 
had  intended  to  pass  by  Maksud-Beggi  to  Aminabad,  some 
hours  farther  on,  and  so  get  by  Yezdikhast  on  the  follow- 
ing day.  But  not  being  as  yet  on  my  guard  against  the 
machinations  of  the  new  chavadar,  he  managed  by  vari- 
ous delays  and  pretexts  to  arrive  here  rather  late  in  the 
day.  In  the  discussion  which  follows  he  first  exhibits 
his  unamiable  temper.  But  the  chief  of  the  village  and 
the  man  in  charge  of  the  caravansary,  who  botii  seem  to 


100  SKETCHING    UNDER  DIFFICULTIES 

be  of  respectable  standing,  intervene ;  and  as  they  all 
assure  us  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  reach  the  next 
station  before  night,  we  conclude  to  make  the  best  of  it 
here.  We  select  a  cell  a  shade  less  begrimed  and  sooty 
than  the  majority,  and  are  soon  comfortably  installed, 
while  the  chief,  who  has  consented  to  sit  for  his  portrait, 
settles  himself  just  outside  the  door.  As  a  model  he 
does  not  prove  a  success,  for  his  attention  is  constantly 
distracted  with  counting  out  copper  coins,  writing  letters 
or  receipts,  and  transacting  the  business  of  scribe  in  gen- 
eral to  the  community.  The  other  caravan  now  comes 
in,  and  instead  of  dining  alone,  as  I  had  anticipated,  I 
have  the  joy  of  sharing  their  good  cheer  in  a  cell  which 
has  been  quickly  converted  into  a  civilized  dining-room 
by  the  magic  means  of  a  well-set  table,  carpets,  and  gay 
hangings  which  hide  the  blackened  stone,  folding  arm- 
chairs placed  in  front  of  the  blazing  fire,  and,  most  impor- 
tant of  all,  the  charm  of  congenial  society. 

Yezdikhast,  November  9th. — Hadj  Ali  smooths  matters 
over  by  promising  to  take  a  short-cut  to  Shiraz,  by  which 
we  hope  to  avoid  the  other  cholera  villages  and  the  dread- 
ed quarantine. 

The  approach  to  this  place  is  a  succession  of  surprises. 
The  town,  a  compact  and  yellow  mass  of  crowded  dwell- 
ings, appears  to  rise  abruptly,  and  close  at  hand  above 
the  level  plain  which  we  are  crossing.  All  at  once  a  pro- 
found ravine  opens  in  front  of  us,  and  perched  high  up 
on  the  summit  of  the  yellow  cliffs  on  the  other  side  are 
the  houses  which  we  saw  from  the  plain.  Descending 
steeply  to  the  pebbly  floor  of  this  ravine,  which  is  an 
ancient  river-bed,  we  turn  to  the  left  and  ride  along  under 
the  perpendicular  ledge.  There  are  filthy  pools  along  the 
bottom  of  it,  and  black,  slimy  stains  descend  the  rocky 
wall  from  the  rickety  wooden  balconies  and  projecting 


UNCANNY  ARCHITECTURE  101 

windows  of  the  town  above  us.  If  the  people  overhead 
are  dying  of  cholera,  they  are  surely  very  quiet  about  it, 
and  there  is  no  sign  of  life  at  any  of  the  windows.  We 
come  to  the  chapar  khaneh  on  the  other  side  of  the 
ravine.  It  is  locked  up,  and  a  little  farther  on  the  ravine 
opens  on  to  a  broad  river,  which  we  cross  by  a  bridge, 
and  enter  an  imposing  caravansary  of  the  time  of  Shah 
Abbas.* 

In  this  way  we  avoid  entering  the  town.  The  river  is 
bordered  on  both  sides  by  vertical  cliffs,  and  from  the 
gate  of  the  caravansary,  looking  across  the  bridge,  we  get 
the  most  striking  view  of  Yezdikhast.  The  long  ledge  on 
which  it  stands  is  pierced  by  many  caves  and  openings 
along  the  top,  and  from  a  distance  it  is  difficult  to  make 
out  just  where  the  town  begins,  where  the  caves  become 
windows  and  doors.  They  are  accentuated  in  many 
places  by  jutting  windows  and  crazy-looking  balconies 
propped  by  sticks,  at  a  great  height  above  the  stream 
below.  This  long  rock  ends  in  a  thin  wedge  where  the 
ravine  on  the  other  side  enters  the  river-bed.  Separated 
at  the  other  end  from  the  main  range  of  cliffs  by  a  spe- 
cies of  drawbridge,  it  can  easily  be  made  as  inaccessible 
as  a  vulture's  nest  perched  on  a  crag,  and  the  dark  streaks 
which  stain  the  cliffs  below  heighten  the  resemblance  to  a 
roosting-place  of  those  scavengers  of  the  desert. 

It  was  at  this  caravansary  that  Iloussein  first  became 
incorporated  into  our  caravan,  in  the  capacity  of  cook, 
and  made  his  debut  with  a  remarkably  successful  curry. 

Dehgadu,  Kovemher  10th. — Iladj  Ali's  chief  assistant  is 
a  grotesque,  bandy-legged  negro,  whose  buffoonery  makes 
him  the  joy  of  the  caravan.  When  we  are  on  the  march, 
and  he  is  perched  on  the  top  of  a  pack  -  mule,  crowning 

*  Shah  Abbas  the  Great  rcisrned  in  the  seventeenth  ceutiirv. 


102  THE    CARAVAN   JESTER 

like  a  Gothic  gargoyle  the  very  apex  of  the  piled-up  bag- 
gage, he  sings  by  the  hour,  and  with  more  trills  and  fal- 
setto quavers  than  Yvette  Guilbert.  When  he  is  tired  of 
singing  he  tells  stories  with  monkey -like  grimaces  and 
pantomimic  action.  Kobody  understands  his  dialect,  but 
all  laugh,  for  his  gayety  is  irresistibly  contagious.  Then 
he  falls  asleep,  and  lags  behind,  swaying  violently,  till  he 
is  awakened  by  a  fall,  from  which  he  always  picks  him- 
self up  unhurt.  At  daylight  we  leave  the  caravansary, 
and  crossing  a  field  where  peasants  are  gleaning,  follow 
along  the  base-line  of  the  great  cliffs  which  wall  in  the 
valley.  Ravens  are  wheeling  and  croaking  above,  and,  as 
we  begin  to  ascend  the  cliffs,  coveys  of  partridges  rise 
whirring  from  the  path.  Another  table-land,  crossed  by 
a  range  of  bleak  hills,  stretches  before  us  when  we  have 
mounted  the  cliffs,  and,  looking  back,  the  river  valley 
seems  to  have  sunk  out  of  sight,  and  Yezdikhast  appears 
to  be  on  the  same  unbroken  plain.  We  are  at  an  eleva- 
tion of  nearly  seven  thousand  feet,  and  the  air,  though 
invigorating,  is  cold  and  chilly.  The  only  objects  of 
interest  during  the  long  day's  march  are  the  glimmering 
snow-fields  of  Kuh  Alijuk,  another  seven  thousand  feet 
above  us.  We  meet  no  sign  of  life  on  the  road,  but  late 
in  the  afternoon  we  sight  a  herd  of  antelopes  or  gazelles 
scampering  away  in  the  distance  and  showing  their  white 
tails.  The  village  of  Dehgadu,  where  we  expect  to  pass 
the  night,  finally  appears  in  the  distance,  scarcely  distin- 
guishable from  the  stony  hill-side  on  which  it  stands. 
Outside  the  walls  and  near  the  gate  there  is  a  long,  yel- 
low patch  dotted  with  dark  figures,  from  which  we  infer 
that  the  inhabitants  are  winnowing  their  grain.  As  we 
approach,  the  dark  figures  begin  to  run  towards  us,  agi- 
tating their  arms  and  implements  of  labor,  and  some  of 
them  are  shouting.     Although  it  is  not  usual  for  Persian 


A  WARM   RECEPTION 


103 


rustics  to  take  such  unnecessary  exercise,  we  pay  no  at- 
tention to  them,  being  wrapt  in  vague  speculations  as  to 
what  manner  of  lodgino^  we  shall  find  here.  In  a  mo- 
ment  they  have  surrounded  Carapet,  who  is  riding  some 
rods  in  advance,  and  have  begun  to  belabor  his  horse  with 
their  wooden  pitchforks.  My  first  impulse  is  to  draw  a 
revolver ;  and  Carapet,  in  his  Avrath,  slips  off  the  cover  of 
ray  rifle  and  reaches  it  out  for  me.    Carapet  is  a  boy  who 


QUARASTINK    (JUARD   AT    I)KHGAD0 


might  be  "quick  with  the  trigger"'  on  slight  provocation, 
and  by  the  time  I  have  got  the  thing  safely  under  my 
arm  our  assailants  have  turned  their  attention  to  my 
horse,  abstaining,  however,  from  attacking  our  pei-sons. 
My  situation  on  this  curveting  and  frightened  beast,  who 
was  too  tired  to  run,  and  had  not  the  nerve  to  stand  still, 
began  to  be  somewhat  unsafe  as  well  as  embarrassing. 
It  is  needless  to  sav  that  these  o^entlemen  constituted  the 


104  IN  DESPERATE  STRAITS 

"sanitary  committee"'  of  Dehgadu,  and  that  we  were 
quarantined  for  having  passed  by  Yezdikhast.  Since  West- 
ern civilization  has  set  the  example,  Europeans  have  no 
right  to  complain  if  these  people  see  fit  to  enact  the  sorry 
farce  of  quarantine  in  a  village  of  mud  huts.  We  man- 
aged, by  backing  our  horses,  to  keep  clear  of  the  crowd 
until  the  arrival  of  the  chief,  Avho  explained  with  formal 
politeness  that  these  people  were  brutes,  and  had  exceed- 
ed his  orders.  By  this  time  the  baggage  animals  had 
arrived,  and  the  villagers  led  the  way  to  a  barren  field 
about  half  a  mile  from  the  walls.  Here  the  chief  and  his 
assistants  hastily  scraped  away  the  straw  and  debris  from 
a  hole  in  the  ground,  uncovering  a  spring  of  filthy  yellow 
water;  and  while  beasts  and  men  drank  copiously,  they 
brouD-ht  armfuls  of  sticks  and  built  a  bonfire.  During 
all  this  time  I  had  never  ceased  to  threaten  and  remon- 
strate, egging  on  Carapet  to  put  it  into  forcible  and  pro- 
fane Persian,  and  fortifying  my  position  with  the  fact 
that  they  had  actually  attacked  the  caravan.  We  swore 
that  if  they  did  not  take  us  in  we  should  ride  across  to 
Dehbid,  on  the  main  road,  and  wire  to  the  legation  at 
Teheran.  Under  ordinary  circumstances  diplomatic  inter- 
ference would  have  been  tardy  and  ineffectual,  but  in  this 
case  I  felt  confident  that  our  cause  would  be  taken  up  at 
once.  Our  situation  while  the  issue  was  pending  was  not 
enviable :  there  was  no  other  shelter  within  eight  farsakhs 
(over  thirty  miles),  we  could  not  find  the  road  at  night, 
and  the  hills  on  this  side  of  the  main  route  were  said  to 
be  somewhat  unsafe  after  dark.  Added  to  this,  it  was 
becoming  bitterly  cold  in  the  waning  daylight.  We  un- 
loaded the  horses,  and  opened  a  tin  of  beef  and  a  bottle 
of  whiskey.  After  a  brief  consultation  among  themselves, 
the  chief  and  some  of  the  others  went  off  to  the  village  to 
have  another  conference,  leaving  us  squatting  over  the 


A   CHANGE   OF  FRONT  105 

fire.  They  presently  came  back  and  offered  us  the  free- 
dom of  the  town,  only  begging  for  a  written  certificate  of 
good  conduct,  and  a  little  whiskey  for  the  chief's  father, 
who  was  sick  unto  death.  I  chose  for  my  quarter  the 
room  over  the  town  gate ;  and  Avhile  the  baffffajre  was 
being  hoisted  and  dragged  up  a  broken  and  ruinous  stair- 
way by  these  knights  of  the  pitchfork,  others  brought  tire- 
wood  and  provisions,  limited  as  usual  to  bread,  chickens, 
and  eggs.  Our  aggressors  now  showed  themselves  as 
zealous  in  promoting  our  comfort  as  they  had  been  before 
in  driving  us  off,  and  it  was  with  some  little  difficulty 
that  we  finally  prevailed  on  them  to  leave  us  alone  for 
the  night. 

Dehgadu,  Navemher  11th,  6  A.M. — All  the  masculine 
part  of  the  population,  and  some  veiled  women  as  well, 
have  turned  out  to  see  the  start ;  and  while  we  are  on  the 
roof  packing  the  baggage  and  inciting  Hadj  Ali  to  ac- 
tion, we  look  down  on  a  long  line  of  upturned  faces.  The 
owners  of  these  faces  are  propped  lazil}'^  against  the  oppo- 
site wall,  watching  our  everv  movement,  and  paying  but 
slight  attention  to  the  discourse  of  a  ragged  and  paralytic 
old  fanatic  seated  on  a  dungheap,  who  is  alternately 
haranguing  the  crowd  and  cursing  us  with  uplifted  hands. 

Novemher  12th. — The  long  stretch  of  country  which 
now  lies  before  us  proves  to  be  the  most  desolate  and 
cheerless  on  the  road  to  Shiraz.  The  only  soul  we  meet 
on  the  way  is  a  ragged,  grizzly  bearded  Kurd,  who  had 
evidently  sighted  our  procession  from  afar,  and  was  wait- 
ing for  it  to  come  up;  he  addresses  a  loud  and  ])laintive 
monologue  to  us,  at  the  same  time  pointing  to  a  long  line 
of  beetling  cliffs  which  rose  above  the  path.  This  oration, 
being  translated,  means  that  there  is  a  dying  man  in  a  hut 
somewhere  anions:  these  heijrhts.  and  he  beseeches  us  to 
go  up  and  see  him.     This  we  declined  to  do,  not  having 


106  NOT  INVITING 

implicit  faith  in  his  statements,  and  he  then  begged  for 
money  with  Avliich  to  purchase  medicine.  As  it  did  not 
then  occur  to  me  that  there  was  no  pharmacy  in  the 
neighborhood,  I  gave  him  two  "  krans,"  and  we  left  him, 
roundly  abusing  us  for  not  giving  him  ten. 

The  lateness  of  the  hour  indicates  that  we  must  be 
approaching  the  end  of  the  seven  long  farsakhs  (I  say 
long,  because  every  traveller  soon  discovers  that  there 
are  both  long  and  short  farsakhs),  and  the  yellow  walls 
and  castles  rising  from  the  plain  show  that  we  cannot  be 
far  from  the  haven  promised  by  Hadj  Ali.  But  all  these 
architectural  wonders  are  but  deserted  ruins.  A  lonely 
and  isolated  pile  near  the  foot  of  a  steep  ridge  which 
seems  to  bar  our  farther  progress  is  pointed  out  as  the 
caravansary.  Carapet  has  galloped  on  to  see  what  sort 
of  quarters  Hadj  Ali  had  chosen  for  us ;  by  the  time  I 
reach  the  building  Carapet  has  concluded  his  inspection, 
and  returns  with  an  air  of  hopeless  dejection.  The  car- 
avansary proves  to  be  but  a  crumbling  shell,  tenanted  by 
a  tribe  of  nomadic  Kurds,  who  are  camping  out  in  its 
ruins ;  every  cell  is  occupied  by  their  families.  Men, 
women,  and  children,  cattle,  goats,  and  chickens,  are 
huddled  promiscuously  together  in  the  dirty  cells  behind 
the  tattered  remnants  of  black  tents  which  cover  the 
arched  openings,  and  the  air  is  filled  with  the  choking 
fumes  of  dung  fires.  One  or  two  caravans  are  encamped 
outside.  The  only  place  where  we  could  by  any  possi- 
bility sleep  is  a  deminutive  cell  on  the  roof,  open  on  three 
of  its  six  sides  to  the  wind.  This  time  Iladj  Ali  had 
overstepped  the  mark ;  he  had  reached  the  "  end  of  his 
tether,"  and  I  waited  for  him  to  come  up,  intending  to 
remonstrate  so  effectually  that  he  would  be  more  careful 
in  future.  Feeling  confident  that  he  was  master  of  the 
situation,  he  received  our  mild  remonstrances  with  ag- 


WE  MAKE  THE   BEST  OF  IT  107 

gressive  insolence,  and  even  went  to  the  length  of  threat- 
ening Carapet  with  his  stick.  This  led  to  the  sudden 
downfall  of  Hadj  Ali,  and  although  he  called  loudly 
upon  his  two  assistants  for  help  against  the  infidel,  they 
paid  no  attention  to  his  outcries.  People  who  live  in 
Persia  say  that  there  are  good  chavadars  as  well  as  bad 
ones,  men  whom  you  can  intrust  with  any  amount  of 
property,  but  we  did  not  have  the  good-fortune  to  fall  in 
with  them.  Those  whom  we  had,  however,  were  not  the 
worst  of  their  kind,  but  they  were  brutes  for  the  most 
part,  possessed  of  a  certain  degree  only  of  animal  cun- 
ning. Our  situation,  for  which  Hadj  Ali  was  in  a  measure 
responsible,  could  not  be  called  a  dilemma,  for  there  was 
no  alternative,  no  other  shelter  for  many  miles,  only  the 
little  cell  on  the  roof.  The  appearance  of  the  crowd 
which  now  poured  out  of  every  nook  and  corner  of  the 
ruin  was  not  reassuring,  particularly  as  my  baggage 
contained  considerable  coin  and  plunder  of  various  kinds ; 
and  the  cold  was  increasing,  as  the  wind  blew  straight 
down  from  the  snow  not  far  above  us. 

The  old  beggar  who  had  met  us  on  the  road  with  the 
legend  of  the  sick  man  noAv  came  in,  having  followed 
close  behind,  and  he  seemed  to  be  one  of  the  head  men  of 
the  tribe.  The  petty  pilferings  to  which  our  baggage 
had  been  subjected  in  various  places  had  made  it  advis- 
able to  engage  the  chief  of  the  village,  or  of  the  caravan- 
sary, to  watch  outside  the  door  at  night,  so  we  now 
selected  the  most  responsible  -  looking  man  to  mount 
guard.  As  the  stairway  w^iich  led  to  our  eyrie  became 
a  ragged  cliff  half-way  up,  the  baggage  was  hoisted  on  to 
the  roof  by  means  of  the  cords  used  for  tying  it  on  the 
pack-saddles,  and  with  the  aid  of  all  the  able-bodied  men 
available.  When  it  had  been  deposited  in  the  cell,  and 
the  gaps  blockaded  with  boxes  and  closed  up  with  rugs. 


108  AN  AMATEUR  PRACTITIONER 

there  was  barely  space  enough  for  my  camp-bed  and  Cara- 
pet's  mattress.  It  was  impossible  to  have  a  fire  there,  as 
there  was  no  outlet  for  the  smoke.  Hussein  installed 
his  kitchen  just  outside  the  arch  opening  into  the 
stone  niche  overlooking  the  court  of  the  caravansary,  and 
built  a  fire  of  brushwood  at  the  threshold.  It  was  now 
the  turn  of  the  sick  and  the  lame ;  my  inadequate  medi- 
cine-chest was  dug  out  from  its  retreat,  and  I  could  but 
regret  having  come  to  this  country  without  having  taken 
the  degree  of  M.D.,  and  being  thoroughly  qualified  in 
practical  surgery  as  well.  By  way  of  additional  pre- 
caution, the  night  was  divided  into  two  watches — I  was 
to  take  first,  and  Carapet  the  second ;  but  it  was  a  physical 
impossibility  for  that  youth  to  keep  awake,  and  we  both 
ended  by  sleeping  the  sleep  of  the  just  till  dawn.  The 
good  people  gave  us  no  trouble,  and  we  left  at  the 
first  red  flush  of  sunrise.  Ice  had  formed  during  the 
night  along  the  margin  of  the  stony  brook  which  flowed 
past  the  gateway. 

Asupas,  JVovemher  13th. — The  route  to-day  descended 
by  a  steep  pass  into  a  warmer  zone.  The  village,  seen 
from  above,  appeared  to  be  grouped  about  a  citadel,  and 
surrounded  by  trees  near  the  margin  of  a  river.  Persia 
is  the  home  of  illusions,  and  the  citadel  proved  to  be  but 
a  mud  house  a  little  higher  than  the  others.  In  order  to 
reach  the  chief's  house  we  descend  from  our  horses  at  a 
low  gateway,  and  after  traversing  a  maze  of  barn-yards, 
and  ascending  steps  to  a  higher  level  of  flat  roofs,  whence 
we  can  look  down  into  the  other  huts  of  the  village, 
where  the  women  are  working  at  their  looms  weaving 
"  kelims,"  or  striped  carpets,  we  cross  by  a  shaky  bridge 
of  sticks  and  clay  to  the  chief's  house.  The  baggage  is 
carried  all  this  distance  by  porters.  A  large  room,  quite 
open  to  the  sky  at  one  end  and  at  the  adjoining  corner. 


RIFLE  PRACTICE  109 

is  swept  out  and  placed  at  our  disposal.  The  chief  is  a 
handsome,  genial  man  of  forty  or  thereabouts,  clad,  like 
the  other  villagers,  in  a  faded  blue  blouse.  There  is  but 
little  prospect  of  privacy,  as  both  he  and  the  otlier  mem- 
bers of  the  family,  including  the  children  and  the  family 
dog,  a  small  greyhound  wearing  a  frayed  and  embroidered 
blanket,  make  continual  incursions  to  ask  what  we  need, 
prompted  in  part  by  curiosity,  and  also  b}'^  genuine  hos- 
pitality. At  our  appeal  he  provides  blankets  and  mats  to 
serve  as  portieres  at  the  openings.  In  the  morning  he 
tells  us  that  his  men  are  bringing  in  a  wounded  wolf 
which  had  been  killing  their  sheep.  The  poor  brute  has 
a  broken  leg,  and  is  dragged  reluctantly  along  by  a  rope 
tied  about  his  muzzle ;  knowing  that  he  is  doomed  to  die 
by  slow  torture,  I  ask  permission  to  finish  him  with  a  rifle 
ball.  Our  chief  mounts  a  thin,  wiry  Arab,  takes  his  Mar- 
tini, and,  preceded  by  the  greyhound  bounding  in  front, 
escorts  us  for  an  hour  or  more,  pointing  out  at  a  pool 
near  a  steep  cliff  the  spot  where  he  had  shot  a  brigand 
from  some  neighboring  Kurdish  tribe  a  fortnight  before, 
and  his  two  comrades  had  escaped  among  the  rocks. 

3Iayun,  November  loth. — We  ascend  another  wild  pass 
by  steep  and  winding  path,  where  the  dust  rises  in  clouds, 
and  then  down  into  a  series  of  deep  gorges  walled  in  by 
great  bastions  of  blue-black  slate ;  the  valleys  and  hill- 
sides leading  up  to  the  cliffs  are  dotted  with  thickets  of 
tamarisk,  and  low,  thickset  thorn  bushes.  Through  the 
last  valley  runs  a  deep  mountain  stream  beneatii  a  dense 
growth  of  tangled  jungle  and  brakes  of  tufted  canes. 
The  air  is  close  and  heavy  under  a  brooding  November 
sky.  At  the  unpromising  village  of  Mayun  we  are  re- 
ceived by  the  governor  of  the  district  and  the  local  chief, 
sitting  with  scribes  and  servants  in  a  sort  of  open  hall 
on  carpets  and  rugs  of  white  felt.     In  the  adjoining  room. 


110  OUR  BODY-GUARD 

which  has  three  arched  openings,  servants  are  making  tea 
in  a  huge  samovar,  and  heaping  wood  on  the  fire  which 
blazes  in  the  chimney.  Although  I  protest  against  soil- 
ing their  clean  white  rugs,  they  place  a  chair  for  me  in 
their  midst,  and  tea  is  brought  in  cups  of  fine  porcelain. 
Outside,  in  the  dirty  enclosure,  two  superb  Arab  horses 
with  fine  slender  legs  are  tethered  to  the  wall.  One  of 
them,  a  dapple-gray,  stands  on  his  hind-legs  and  fights 
with  the  groom,  hitting  straight  out  from  the  shoulder. 
Our  hosts  offer  us  the  adjoining  room,  which  seems  rather 
too  open  for  the  season,  and  we  finally  settle  down  in  a 
small,  black,  cavern-like  place  in  the  yard.  The  governor 
thinks  we  must  have  an  escort  through  the  next  stretch 
of  country,  to  which  I  demur,  knowing  that  it  means 
backsheesh,  and  feeling  confident  that  we  are  sufficient 
in  ourselves.  As  I  looked  at  this  governor,  it  becomes 
apparent  that  a  slight  change  of  raiment  would  make  a 
^' boulevardier "  of  him,  and  my  opinion  is  strengthened 
when  he  asks  if  we  can  spare  him  a  bottle  of  cognac.  At 
dawn  he  comes  to  take  leave  of  us.  A  little  farther  on 
we  are  intercepted  by  three  horsemen,  who  come  on  at  a 
tearing  gallop  and  rein  up  suddenly  in  front  of  us.  These 
gentlemen  are  the  promised  escort,  which  I  hoped  the 
governor  had  forgotten ;  but  "  one  glance  at  their  array  " 
is  sufficient  to  show  that  they  are  worthy  of  their  hire 
and  of  great  artistic  value.  One  of  them  is  the  governor's 
little  son  of  twelve  or  thirteen,  mounted  on  a  slender  and 
spirited  black  horse,  like  one  of  the  trained  "  Alezans " 
at  the  Hippodrome.  He  sits  very  erect,  with  an  air  of 
great  dignity,  and  carries  a  fine  double  express  rifle, 
marked  with  the  name  of  a  famous  Bond  Street  firm. 
His  harness  is  elaborately  decorated  with  silver-work. 
An  older  man,  armed  Avith  a  Martini  rifle  and  showily  got- 
ten up,  rides  behind  him,  and  they  are  followed  by  a  pict- 


112  OUR  FIRST  VIEW  OF  SlIIRAZ 

uresque  and  rakish  trooper.  Here  the  stream,  which  has 
become  a  deep  river,  swirls  and  eddies  round  a  willow- 
fringed  curve  under  frowning  walls  of  purple  slate.  On 
all  sides  rise  the  towering  battlements  of  rock,  some 
crowned  with  needle -like  pinnacles,  others  with  flat, 
table-like  summits.  We  are  entertained  with  more  his- 
tories of  brigands,  which  harmonize  with  the  scenery. 
This  time  two  of  their  villagers  were  killed  in  an  affray 
with  Kurds  from  the  neighboring  heights.  Our  escort 
were  greatly  interested,  but,  I  fear,  politely  incredulous 
when  told  that  one  "professional"  in  our  country  had 
made  a  fortune  by  holding  up  express  trains,  and  had 
successfully  defied  the  State  militia. 

Shiraz,  November  19th.  —  Most  of  the  famous  panora- 
mas of  cities  extolled  by  travellers  are  said  to  "burst 
■upon  the  eye,"  and  Shiraz  proves  a  shining  illustration  of 
this  well-worn  expression.  As  in  an  artistically  arranged 
diorama,  where  one  is  led  on  through  dark  passages  to 
the  dazzling  climax,  so  here,  after  winding  for  long  hours 
through  gloomy  mountain  corridors,  betw^een  walls  of 
ever-increasing  height,  one  comes  suddenly  upon  a  gap, 
a  notch,  in  the  seemingly  endless  series  of  cliffs.  Follow- 
ing the  course  of  the  torrent,  the  road  descends  abruptly 
to  the  notch,  where  the  stream  is  walled  across  by  a 
great  dam  of  masonry,  and  Shiraz  lies  far  below  us  in  an 
emerald-green  plain,  illuminated  for  a  moment  by  a  long 
track  of  light  from  the  west.  The  road  passes  under  a 
high  gateway  built  against  the  cliff  on  one  side,  com- 
municating with  various  arcaded  structures  higher  up 
among  slender  cypresses,  recalling  the  way  -  side  chapels 
of  Italy.  A  steep  paved  causeway  littered  with  bowlders 
descends  to  the  plain,  where  a  broad  avenue,  flanked  by 
orange  gardens  and  bordered  by  venerable  cypresses, 
with  a  shining  blue  dome  at  the  end  of  the  vista,  leads 


VARIEGATED    TINTS  113 

into  the  city.  Across  the  plain  rise  the  purph^  mountain 
barriers  which  lie  between  Shiraz  and  the  sea.  At  the 
gate  I  found  the  negro  who  had  been  sent  on  the  day 
before  with  a  letter  announcing  our  arrival,  and  at  the 
bottom  of  the  hill  the  two  gentleinen  who  had  charita- 
bly offered  entertainment  to  the  men  and  beasts  of  this 
dusty  and  weather-beaten  procession.  A  short  walk 
takes  us  to  the  gate  in  the  long  garden  wall  enclosing 
our  host's  residence — a  low,  bungalow-like  structure,  with 
a  broad  white-pillared  veranda.  A  tank  in  front  reflects 
the  lurid  November  sunset,  the  dark  cypress  spires,  and  the 
white  columns,  as  well  as  the  brilliant  masses  of  autumn 
flowers;  among  them  are  many-hued  chrysanthemums, 
and  such  late  roses  as  have  been  spared  by  the  frost. 
Men  in  white  flannels  are  playing  in  the  tennis-courts. 
xVt  the  dinner  which  follows  the  famous  wine  of  Sliiraz 
is  on  the  table.  From  the  conflicting  opinions  of  differ- 
ent travellers,  I  had  been  led  to  expect  something  like  a 
heavy  and  cloying  liquor,  but  my  verdict  would  be  that 
it  is  more  akin  to  old  port,  with  a  suspicion  of  marsala. 


Ill 

S/i,'m3,  Noremher  20th. — The  most  characteristic  feat- 
ures of  this  city,  which  has  been  in  a  way  tlie  Florence  of 
Persia,  as  Ispahan  was  its  Kc^me,  are  the  old  and  neg- 
lected gardens  surrounding  the  decaying  payilions  and 
gai'den-houses  of  its  ancient  rulers.  Persia  ex])lains  both 
^fogul  India  and  ^Eoorish  S])aiii,  for  in  both  countries  the 
landscape-gardening  seems  to  have  followed  the  canons 
of  Persian  taste.  ]\[any  who  have  not  been  in  Persia  are 
familiar  with  the  gardens  of  the  (ieneralife  in  (Ti-anada. 
or,  better  still,  tlie  ])alace  gardens  of  Agra  and  Lahore, 
where  one  may  find  the  same  stonc-curljetl  canals,  bor- 
s 


114  A  POETICAL  LANDSCAPE 

dered  with  flowering  shrubs  or  by  avenues  of  cypresses, 
where  even  the  designs  of  the  inlaid  tiles  and  of  the 
arched  colonnades  differ  from  those  of  Persia  only  in 
some  minute  details.  One  of  the  most  attractive  of  these 
old  pleasure  resorts  is  situated  on  the  slope  of  the  moun- 
tain behind  the  house.  Dark  masses  of  foliage  rise  above 
the  wall  and  the  gate  by  which  we  enter,  and  just  inside 
is  a  great  tank,  now  dry  and  dusty,  which  once  reflected 
the  ranks  of  tall  cypresses,  together  with  the  successive 
terraced  platforms,  all  decorated  with  mosaic  tiles,  which 
lead  up,  like  long  flights  of  steps,  to  the  principal  pavilion 
standing  high  on  the  hill-side.  A  stream  of  water  once 
fell  in  rippling  cascades  over  slabs  of  fretted  marble  into 
this  lowest  reservoir.  But  all  is  now  in  ruins :  the  water- 
courses are  dried  up ;  the  supporting  walls  of  the  terraces 
have  crumbled  away  in  many  places,  leaving  only  heaps 
of  bricks,  among  which  gleams  here  and  there  the  vivid 
blue  glaze  of  a  tile.  One  or  two  slender  minarets  still 
retain  their  glittering  surfaces  of  porcelain.  It  may  have 
been  in  this  very  spot  that  Hafiz  borrowed  much  of  the 
imagery  which  gives  such  color  to  his  verses  that  they 
seem  still  fresh  and  living  to  us  moderns.  Both  he  and 
the  poet  Sadi,  his  great  rival  in  fame,  lie  buried  in  gar- 
den tombs  not  far  off.  As  Emerson  says,  "  the  cedar, 
the  cypress,  the  palm,  the  olive,  and  fig  tree,  the  birds  that 
inhabit  them,  and  the  garden  flowers,  are  never  wanting 
in  these  musky  verses,  and  are  always  named  with  effect.'^ 
This  garden,  like  those  nearer  the  city,  is  still  the  resort 
of  the  fashionable  youth  of  Shiraz,  wdio  delight  in  dis- 
playing their  superb  horsemanship  on  tlie  roads  which 
lead  to  it,  and  one  often  encounters  picnicking  parties 
of  veiled  ladies  in  some  secluded  nook,  where  their  rugs 
are  laid  on  the  russet  carpet  of  fallen  leaves.  There  are 
always  groups   of   young   men   looking  down  from   the 


116  MARBLE  LIONS  AND  CABBAGES 

higher  galleries  above,  over  the  ruined  terraces  and  the 
tree-tops  below,  and  many  of  them  have  scrawled  their 
names  in  the  Persian  characters  on  the  mouldering 
stucco  of  the  alcoves.  They  seem  to  ride  out  here  for 
exercise,  and  to  enjoy  the  view,  as  their  Italian  brethren 
climb  the  terraces  of  San  Giusto  at  Verona.  Many  of 
these  young  fellows,  who  probably  represent  the  jeunesse 
doree  of  Shiraz,  have  an  air  of  greater  refinement  than 
is  usual  in  the  northern  cities ;  their  handsome  horses  are 
carefully  groomed,  and  their  trappings  and  saddle-cloths, 
often  of  immaculate  Avhite  felt  stitched  in  arabesque  de- 
signs, although  quiet  in  effect,  are  faultlessly  correct. 

In  the  city  there  are  many  picturesque  nooks  and  cor- 
ners, and  a  few  elaborately  built  and  imposing  bazaars. 
One  cannot  convey  in  words  an  idea  of  the  beauty,  both 
in  color  and  "  motif,"  of  the  crumbling  panels  of  tiled 
mosaic  which  adorn  the  outer  walls  of  the  old  "  Madras- 
seh "  and  of  some  of  the  mosques.  The  offices  of  the 
Indo-European  Telegraph  Company  occupy  a  fine  old 
palace ;  the  garden  in  front  is  entered  through  an  arched 
portal,  from  which  a  narrow  canal,  bordered  by  flagged 
walks,  leads  to  the  entrance  of  the  building ;  the  garden- 
er, probably  for  his  own  domestic  needs,  had  ornamented 
one  of  these  walks  by  a  border  of  cabbages,  with  highly 
decorative  efi'ect.  A  dado  of  marble,  with  lions  sculptured 
in  low  relief,  runs  along  the  front,  above  which  are  old 
latticed  windows  of  rich  and  intricate  design.  Here  let 
me  say  a  word  in  regard  to  the  interior  decoration,  not 
particularly  of  this  ])alace,  although  it  applies  to  it  as 
well,  but  of  several,  of  which  I  remember  one  at  Tabreez 
occupied  by  this  same  company.  I  refer  to  the  artistic 
value  of  the  fireplaces  in  the  general  scheme  of  decora- 
tion. The  low  and  graceful  pointed  arch  has  a  sort  of 
penthouse  projection  half  filling  it  above,  to  favor  the 


GARDES    AT    SHIRAZ StJXSET 


escape  of  smoke,  <an(l  the  panel  of  wall  surrounding  it,  as 
well  as  the  dado  on  each  side,  is  delicately  painted  in 
arabesque  of  dark  blue  and  gold.  I  could  think  of  no 
more  apt  simile  than  the  brilliantly  illuminated  frontis- 
piece of  an  old  missal. 

The  last  night  of  our  brief  halt  at  Shiraz  was  made 
memorable  by  a  dinner,  at  which  most  of  the  gentlemen 
connected  with  the  telegraph  service  were  guests,  and  one 
of  the  youngest  of  them  had  the  gift  of  song,  both  grave 
and  gav,  sufficient  to  move  a  far  larger  audience  than  was 
formed  by  his  ap])reciative  colleagues.  He  had  just  vol- 
unteered to  fill  the  vacant  post  of  Dehbid,  and  this  was 
the  eve  of  his  departure.  Dehbid  is  the  highest  and  cold- 
est station  of  the  Indo-European  line,  and  the  last  incum- 
bent had  died  from  exposure  while  on  duty  in  the  snow. 


118  POTLUCK 

My  neighbor  at  the  table  had  been  summoned  up  there  in 
the  depths  of  winter,  and  had  helped  to  dig  his  grave  with 
his  own  hands  under  the  drifts.  From  this  it  may  be 
inferred  that  the  lives  of  these  men  are  not  altogether 
free  from  risk  and  hardship. 

Khan-i-Zinicm,  Novemher  21st.  —  A  change  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  caravan  was  effected  while  the  baff- 
gage  was  being  loaded  at  Shiraz,  and  in  place  of  the 
negro  another  man  turns  up,  who  is  part  owner  of  the 
animals.  He  is  a  little,  weazen-faced  old  man,  wearing  a 
blue  wadded  cap,  bordered  with  Astrakhan,  and  his  chin 
is  decorated  with  a  startling  fringe  of  white  and  orange 
beard,  the  orange  tint  being  due  to  the  ineffectual  appli- 
cation of  the  henna  dye.  Hadj  Ali  at  once  takes  up  the 
thread  of  some  former  dispute  with  his  coadjutor,  who 
has  a  shrill,  high-pitched  voice  of  his  own,  and  a  manifest 
intention  to  have  the  last  word.  The  morning  sky  is 
black  and  threatening  when  we  leave  Shiraz  and  begin  the 
ascent  of  the  hills ;  and  as  I  walk  on  ahead,  out  of  sound 
of  the  bells,  I  can  still  hear  the  wrangling  voices  of  the 
two  chavadars.  Kain  begins  to  fall,  driven  in  our  faces 
by  a  cold  wind,  as  we  enter  a  barren  valley  among  the 
hills.  High  above  the  dark  slopes  which  rise  on  all  sides 
gleams  of  snow  appear  through  the  rifts  in  the  clouds. 
The  road  soon  becomes  too  muddy  for  walking,  and  it  is 
not  easy  to  hold  the  reins  with  stiffened  fingers.  Late 
in  the  afternoon  we  reach  the  great  caravansary  to  which 
we  had  been  looking  forward  as  a  refuge  from  the  wet 
and  cold,  but,  to  our  dismay,  every  cell  is  occupied,  and 
only  after  a  period  of  long  waiting  in  the  sleety  rain 
Carapet  finds  a  dirty  cell,  wliich  is  nearly  filled  with  bales 
of  cotton.  With  great  difficulty  two  men  are  found  to 
remove  a  few  of  the  bags  from  the  top  of  the  pile,  and  so 
make  room  for  the  baggage.      Under  the  circumstances 


ON  TOP   OB^  THE   "KOTALS"  119 

cleanliness  must  wait,  and  without  sweeping  out  the  accu- 
mulated dust  of  ages  wet  sticks  are  brought  and  a  fire  is 
soon  roaring  in  the  chimney.  The  dust  which  surrounds 
us  is  forgotten  in  the  joy  which  follows  the  successful 
process  of  thawing,  and  the  reaction  produced  by  hot 
whiskey  accompanied  by  the  appetizing  fumes  of  Hus- 
sein's curry.  Out  in  the  darkness  a  muleteer  is  singing 
in  a  full  rich  voice,  and  the  plaintive  cadences  of  his  song 
are  strangely  suggestive  of  the  Malaguenas  of  Spain. 

Noveiiiber  22 d.  —  It  is  foggy  when  we  leave  our  quar- 
ters in  the  morning,  but  there  is  a  mellow  glow  behind 
the  fog  which  presages  a  fine  day.  A  clear  sunrise  fol- 
lows, and  the  passing  figures  of  men  and  animals  are  out- 
lined Avith  orange  against  the  violet  mist,  which  hides  all  of 
the  mountains  excepting  their  dazzling  white  crests,  which 
tell  sharply  against  the  exquisite  pale  green  of  the  sk3\ 
A  long  descent  into  a  valley  brings  us  at  noon  to  the 
telegraph  station  of  Dasht-i-Arzen,  which  seems  to  be 
locked  up  and  deserted.  Now  we  climb  the  first  and 
highest  ridge  of  the  "  Kotals,"  at  least  the  highest  point 
of  our  route,  which  is  some  7400  feet  above  the  sea.  The 
newly  made  road  which  we  follow  to  the  top  winds 
through  a  forest  of  low  and  spreading  oaks,  with  con- 
siderable undergrowth  ;  the  drv  brown  leaves  still  cling 
to  the  trees,  the  sunshine  is  hot,  but  the  mud  in  the 
r(jad  is  frozen  hard.  From  the  summit  a  view  opens 
downward  through  the  branches  of  the  trees  over  what 
may  be  called,  with  regard  to  its  climate,  ti'opical  Persia. 
Long  parallel  ridges,  with  some  oblicjue  spurs,  hide  the 
gulf,  which  is  really  but  a  few  miles  distant  as  the  crow 
flies.  A  corner  of  a  lake,  half  hidden  by  a  shoulder  of 
rock,  lies  below  us,  and  the  forest  which  clothes  the  m(jun- 
tain  on  which  we  stand  begins  to  look  fresh  and  green 
a":ain.      In  a  few  hours  we  shall  ovei'take  the   summer. 


120 


THE  PASS   OF  THE   OLD   WOMAN 


Here  the  famous  descent  begins  known  as  the  "  Pass  of 
the  Old  Woman,"  and  it  is  certainly  steep.  Of  course  it 
is  far  easier  to  walk,  as  the  ground  is  completely  covered 
with  rolling  pebbles  and  bowlders,  except  where  the  path 
crosses  a  slope  of  rock,  and  there  the  feet  of  countless 
animals  have  worn  deep  furrows  in  the  stone.  From  a 
convenient  resting-place,  half-wa^^  down,  there  is  a  bird's- 
eye  view  of  the  great  caravansary  of  Mian-Kotal,  stand- 
ing on  a  rocky  slope  dotted  with  groups  of  horses,  mules, 
and  merchandise,  and  one  may  look  down  into  the 
crowded  court-yard  within.  Here,  while  strolling  about 
a  few  yards  from  the  walls,  I  came  suddenly  upon  a  wolf 
trotting  carelessly  up. the  hill  with  his  tongue  lolling  out, 
dog-fashion,  but  he  turned  and  bolted  at  sight  of  a  Euro- 
pean costume. 


CARAVASSAIIV    OF    MIAN-KOTAL 


A   ROUGH  ROAD  121 

Noveriiber  23d. — There  is  no  longer  any  chill  in  the 
night  air.  The  road  downward  continues  through  tiie 
forest,  now  dense  and  green,  over  loose  stones  and  debris, 
to  the  plain,  which  has  a  park-like  appearance,  with  sc  at- 
tered  groups  of  great  trees.  In  the  long  ridge  parallel 
with  that  which  we  have  just  descended  there  is  a  gap, 
through  which  we  approach  another  descent  called 
"  Kotal-i-Dokhter,"  the  Pass  of  the  Daughter.  Here  the 
road  is  paved  with  great  blocks  of  slippery  stone,  and 
there  are  in  places  deep  furrows  or  troughs  filled  with 
mire,  which  have  been  cut  by  the  laden  animals  in  their 
endeavors  to  avoid  the  slippery  pavement.  I  had  begun 
to  think  that  the  height  and  steepness  of  these  famcjus 
stairwavs  of  stone  had  been  exaggerated,  when  all  at 
once  the  narrow  causeway  turns  a  sharp  angle  and 
plunges  seemingly  down  a  precipice.  It  is  a  giddy  depth 
into  which  we  look  down  from  the  low  parapet,  and  be- 
yond rises  with  almost  perpendicular  lines  a  mighty 
black  wall  of  rock.  The  paved  causeway  winds  down 
with  short,  sharp  turns,  corkscrew-like,  floored  with 
irregular,  pointed,  and  polished  bowlders,  on  which  it  is 
not  easy  to  walk,  with  slabs  of  stone  crossing  it  at  inter- 
vals, after  the  fashion  of  Roman  roads.  To  keep  one's 
balance  without  holding  on  to  something  is  difficult,  and 
\'^et  Carapet  had  the  '•  gall  *'  (to  use  a  Western  word 
adopted  in  Persia)  to  ride  my  horse  down  to  the  very 
bottom  of  the  descent.  Compared  to  this  pass,  the 
"  Gemmi,"  down  which  no  one  is  allowed  to  ride  at  the 
present  time,  is  as  an  avenue  floored  with  asphalt.  lUit 
to  those  familiar  with  the  glacier  passes  of  the  Alj)s.  or 
the  higher  rock  peaks,  I  must  admit,  at  the  risk  of  weak- 
ening the  force  of  mv  statement,  that  this  would  seem 
but  an  easy  promenade.  Once  down  in  the  valley,  under 
a  sun  which  burns  with  ever-increasing  foi'ce  as  we  ile- 


122  LIGHT  AND  BLOOM 

scend,  the  road  becomes  irksome  to  the  last  degree,  strewn 
with  bowlders  and  pebbles  like  the  bed  of  a  mountain 
torrent.  Gnarled  and  ancient  rose-trees  shade  the  path 
in  places,  and  the  stunted  thickets  are  alive  with  song- 
birds. "We  pass  the  end  of  the  lake  which  we  had  seen 
from  above,  leaving  on  the  right  some  modern  bass-reliefs 
sculptured  on  the  face  of  the  rocks,  and,  crossing  a  marshy 
river,  we  enter  upon  the  plain  of  Kazerun — a  long,  nar- 
row plain  of  clay,  diversified  only  by  a  few  thickets  of 
stunted  thorn-bushes,  bounded  by  the  two  parallel  walls 
of  the  Kotals ;  that  on  the  south,  already  in  shadow  as 
we  approach  Kazerun,  is  serrated  or  notched  along  the 
top  with  strange  regularity  as  far  as  the  eye  can  follow 
it.  Vertical  fissures,  beginning  near  the  top  and  appar- 
ently of  great  depth,  descend  to  the  plain.  Every  one  has 
seen  by  the  road-side  a  clay  bank  cracked  and  split  open 
by  the  sun,  and  nature  seems  to  have  duplicated  this  proc- 
ess here  on  a  grander  scale.  Kazerun,  with  low  red  walls 
and  a  fringe  of  date-palms  rising  from  its  gardens,  re- 
sembles an  Egyptian  village.  We  are  directed  to  a  gar- 
den villa,  and  entering  an  archway  under  the  house  we 
pass  at  once  from  the  blinding  glare  of  the  road  into  the 
cool  green  gloom  of  an  orange  garden.  The  trees  are 
of  such  size  and  their  foliage  is  so  dense  that  only  a  few 
slender  rays  of  sunlight  filter  through  and  sparkle  like 
gold  coins  on  the  black  soil.  We  are  free  to  camp  out 
where  we  will,  and  select  for  a  dormitory  one  of  the 
upper  rooms,  with  a  door  opening  on  to  the  flat  roof,  com- 
manding a  wide  view  of  the  plain.  When  the  windows 
are  thrown  open  the  leaves  almost  shut  out  the  sky,  and 
one  might  pick  the  oranges  from  their  stems,  Hadj  Ali 
wanted  to  take  the  animals  to  a  caravansary  some  dis- 
tance off,  but  as  this  place  is  known  to  be  the  Capua  of 
muleteers,  and  to  have  an  irresistible  seduction  for  them, 


TUK    PASS    OF    THK    IJALCiHTKR 


124  A   BIT  OF    TEMPER 

he  was  first  made  to  promise  that  at  4  a.m.  he  would  be 
on  hand.  Five  o'clock  came,  but  no  Hadj  Ali.  A  mes- 
senger was  sent  to  find  him,  and  then  Hussein  by  way 
of  emphasis.  It  was  after  eight  when  he  finally  ap- 
peared, quite  indifferent,  and  evidently  "spoiling"  for  a 
row.  His  wish  was  gratified,  and  this  time  there  was  a 
prospect  that  we  might  finish  the  journey  in  peace  with- 
out him ;  for,  dropping  his  coil  of  rope,  he  started  for  the 
town,  shrieking  and  gesticulating  in  a  perfect  frenzy  of 
rage.  He  soon  thought  better  of  it,  however,  and,  return- 
ing to  his  duties,  gave  us  no  more  trouble,  although  I 
could  hear  his  grumbling  voice  far  behind  as  he  ambled 
along  on  his  donkey,  venting  his  discontent  meanwhile  on 
his  long-suffering  partner. 

Kamarij,  Novemher  ^J^th. — Here  we  put  up  in  a  great 
ruinous  house  like  a  fortress.  The  men  being  a\vay  at  the 
mosque,  negotiations  are  conducted  from  a  distance  wdth 
the  women  of  the  household.  The  baggage  is  hoisted 
up  the  winding  stair  to  a  sort  of  open  terrace,  surrounded 
on  three  sides  by  the  fortress-like  avails  of  the  house,  and 
the  other  looks  down  into  a  dirty  enclosure  or  stable-yard. 
Of  many  strange  bedrooms  which  I  remember,  this  is  one 
of  the  most  unique.  A  row  of  doors,  none  of  which  will 
shut  properly,  deeply  recessed  in  the  thick  wall,  open  on  to 
this  terrace  ;  there  is  also  a  door  at  one  end  ;  over  all 
these  doors  are  arched  openings,  through  which  the  wind 
blows.  The  ceiling  of  this  long,  narrow  room  is  also 
arched,  and,  like  the  wall  (that  part  not  occupied  by 
doors),  bears  traces  of  former  magnificence  in  the  shape 
of  stucco  mouldings  of  delicate  design  ;  but  all  is  black 
and  bituminous  with  age  and  smoke.  Now  the  men  are 
coming  back  from  afternoon  prayer,  and,  followed  by  all 
the  male  villagers,  precipitate  themselves  up  the  stairs  in 
order  that  they  may  miss  no  detail  of  this  "  circus."     Hus- 


WE   LEAVE   THE   HIGHLANDS  125 

sein  entertains  a  crowd  of  them  in  the  adjoining  kitchen 
when  he  opens  the  canteens  and  begins  preparations  for 
dinner,  while  a  sufficiently  large  number  remain  to  inspect 
my  pei*sonal  belongings,  and  to  stud}--  at  close  quarters  the 
singular  habits  of  their  owner.  Some  of  the  doors  are 
finally  closed,  and  means  are  devised  to  stop  the  other 
openings  with  carpets,  so  that  a  little  privacy  may  be  ob- 
tained. 

Dal'iki,  November  25t}t. — From  Ivamarij,  after  a  slight 
rise,  we  descended  another  1200  feet  in  most  precipitous 
fashion  by  winding  stairways  worn  in  the  rock,  but 
fortunately  unpaved,  to  the  plain  of  Konar  Takhteh, 
where  we  arrive  in  the  mid-day  heat.  It  was  only  too 
evident  from  the  subterfuges  of  Hadj  Ali  to  insure  delay 
that  he  had  laid  his  plans  to  pass  the  afternoon  in  slum- 
ber ;  but  my  intention  Avas  to  sleep  at  Daliki,  and  after  a 
short  halt  to  rest  the  animals  we  move  on.  I  had  now 
made  nearly  all  the  journey  from  Shiraz,  as  well  as  from 
Ispahan,  on  foot,  excepting  only  those  portions  of  the 
route  Avhich  traversed  dusty  and  monotonous  levels.  In 
this  wav  it  was  easy  to  gain  time  by  running  down  the 
"  short-cuts,"  and  thereby  earn  the  leisure  to  smoke  and 
meditate  and  marvel  at  the  surrounding  desolation. 
Down  the  last  of  the  Kotals  to  Daliki  was.  if  not  the 
steepest,  certainly  the  hottest  and  dustiest  stage  of  the 
journey.  The  tea  in  my  felt-covered  flask  had  become 
tepid  in  the  sun,  antl  being  made  with  brackish  water  it 
was  doubly  nauseous,  so  that  the  sight  and  sound  of  a 
roaring  blue  river  racing  through  the  gorges  below  was 
uncommonly  welcome.  But  the  river  proved  mockingly 
elusive  and  difficult  of  access,  as  the  dusty  grooves  of  the 
road  followed  along  the  heights,  and  at  times  (piite  away 
from  the  course  of  the  stream.  Choked  with  the  limestcjne 
dust  and  parched  with  tiiirst.  I  can  hardly  believe  in  my 


126  A  CHANGE   OF  CLIMATE 

own  good  -  fortune  when  the  road  turns  suddenly  down- 
ward through  a  shady  glen  to  the  very  margin  of  the 
Avater.  It  proves  to  be  as  salt  as  the  Dead  Sea  itself,  but 
happily  not  too  salt  to  bathe  in,  and  from  this  point  on 
the  heat  of  the  sim  is  tempered  by  clouds.  Following  the 
gorge  made  by  the  river,  over  a  great  paved  bridge  guarded 
by  a  ruinous  castle,  along  high  cliffs  of  blue  slate,  across 
marshes,  and  winding  upward  through  another  ravine,  we 
halt  in  the  topmost  notch,  and  look  westward  into  a  sun- 
set of  purple  and  gold  across  a  vast  plain  dark  with  palm 
groves  ;  long  streaks  of  water  behind  the  thickly  planted 
stems  reflect  the  orange  of  the  sky.  There  are  no  more 
Kotals,  the  sea  lies  beyond,  and  only  a  short  descent 
leads  down  to  Daliki.  The  landscape  surrounding  the 
post-house,  which  stands  amid  thickets  of  low  and  spread- 
ing date-palms,  watered  by  rivulets  threading  among 
their  stems,  seems  doubly  attractive  after  the  arid  and 
treeless  ravines  above ;  and  the  deep-toned  after-glow, 
now  fading  into  twilight,  adds  the  fascination  of  mystery. 
Here  at  last  it  is  warm ;  we  shall  burn  no  more  wood, 
and  the  very  sight  of  quilted  coverlets  and  blankets  is  op- 
pressive. 

Borasjun,  November  26th. — From  Daliki  we  follow  the 
edge  of  the  plain,  and  on  our  left  rise  the  Assured  walls 
of  the  Kotals.  The  road  is  crossed  by  rivulets  which 
spread  out  into  miry  pools  bordered  with  black  and 
iridescent  mud,  from  which  a  strange,  fetid  odor  exhales, 
l^ear  the  foot  of  the  hills  are  a  few  rusty  derricks,  sheds, 
and  other  appurtenances  of  the  petroleum  industry. 
Carapet  has  gone  on,  as  he  has  friends  in  the  camp,  and 
presently  I  find  him  seated  at  table  among  a  group  of 
Russian  engineers  in  the  chief  tent.  They  had  been  pros- 
pecting for  oil  for  three  years,  but  without  success.  Tliere 
are  channels  of  warm  water  crossing  our  route  from  hot 


CREATURE  COMFORTS  127 

sulphur  springs  and  other  mineral  sources.  Many  of  the 
people  we  meet  on  the  road  are  Arabians  from  the  oppo- 
site coast,  wearing  wide  turbans  of  some  striped  material. 
The  enormous  caravansary  at  Borasjun  is  certainly  the 
finest  I  have  seen  in  Persia.  Built  within  a  few  years,  it 
was  evidently  designed  for  security,  and  is  a  fortress  as 
well  as  a  hostelry.  Within  is  a  splendid  suite  of  rooms 
for  the  governor  or  other  travelling  officials  of  high  rank. 
A  stone's-throw  off  is  the  telegraph  station,  where  I  am 
again  to  enjoy  the  ever-ready  hospitality  of  the  "  Indo- 
Europeans."  A  telegram  from  Bushire  has  just  been  re- 
ceived announcing  that  a  steam-launch  will  be  sent  to 
Schiff  at  a  few  hours'  notice.  This  means  that  owin^  to 
the  forethought  and  courtesy  of  the  British  Resident,  as 
well  as  the  kindness  of  our  consular  representative,  I  shall 
be  spared  a  journey  of  twenty  miles  across  a  steammg  salt 
marsh,  and  so  be  able  to  catch  the  British  India  steamer 
now  due  at  Bushire.  The  official  in  charge  of  the  tele- 
graph house  tells  me,  as  we  dine  by  candle-light  on  the 
broad  veranda,  that  this  is  the  hottest  station  on  the  line; 
although  an  Armenian  and  a  native  of  the  country,  he 
does  not  speak  of  its  summer  climate  with  pleasure.  The 
apparatus  is  in  the  adjoining  room,  which  is  so  constructed 
that  although  open  to  the  wind,  the  sun  can  never  reach 
it,  and  the  operator  sits  in  grateful  obscurity.  But  for 
nine  months  the  climate  is  most  trying;  the  mercury  often 
stands  at  120^^  Fahr. ;  the  walls  of  the  room  are  so  hot  he 
can  scarcely  bear  to  touch  them ;  and  while  at  work  lie 
has  the  floor  flooded  with  water  to  the  depth  of  several 
inches.     And  3'et  it  is  only  a  few  days  from  Dehbid  I 

A  hard  white  plain  lies  beyond  Borasjun.  and  after  a 
time  the  serried  ranks  of  date-palms  cease,  and  only  a  few 
plumed  sentinels  rise  here  and  there  among  dark  clusters 
of    tamarisk-trees.     Since  leaviuij:  the  mountains  a  new 


128  A   MUD   DESERT 

shrub,  like  a  species  of  gigantic  milkweed,  has  appeared 
along  the  road-side. 

Bushire,  November  'ilth. — The  last  vestige  of  vegetation 
disappeared  some  hours  beyond  Borasjun,  and  there  was 
not  even  a  fringe  of  grass  along  the  borders  of  the  salt 
pools,  but  still  no  sign  of  the  sea  appeared  in  front  of  us. 
AVithin  the  limits  of  vision  there  was  nothing  but  the  far- 
extending  level  of  dried  mud,  darkened  in  places  by  cloud 
shadows.  But  by  way  of  variety  this  desert  of  crusted 
mud  soon  became  an  equally  infinite  extent  of  wet  mud. 
First  crossing  a  few  pools  of  mire,  the  horses  were  soon 
splashing  along  ankle-deep  in  black  slime,  and  the  road 
disappeared.  "We  were  obliged  to  hail  a  passing  peasant 
to  guide  us  to  Schiff.  The  prospect  was  not  encouraging. 
If  the  influence  of  the  tide  was  felt  so  far  inland,  what  was 
there  to  prevent  a  tidal  wave  from  washing  us  back  to 
the  hills?  But  the  salt  flavor  of  the  breeze  showed  that 
we  could  not  be  far  from  the  shore,  and  soon  a  line  of  low 
sand-hills  tufted  with  waving  grass  rose  above  the  horizon  ; 
and  then  Schiff  itself,  only  a  roofless  stone  ruin,  with  a 
few  masts  of  boats  rising  behind  it,  and  a  group  of  fisher- 
men silhouetted  against  the  sky.  The  steamer  is  lying 
far  out  from  the  beach,  as  the  water  is  shallow,  but  tlie 
crew  are  already  on  shore  and  waiting  for  us.  It  is  but 
a  few  minutes'  work  to  transfer  the  baggage  to  a  fishing- 
boat,  while  we  ourselves  get  out  on  the  shoulders  of  the 
men.  The  lateen-sail  is  hoisted,  and,  leaving  the  caravan 
to  continue  round  the  bay,  we  run  alongside  the  launch. 
Comfortably  ensconced  among  the  cushions  under  the 
awning,  while  the  boat  is  steaming  rapidly  across  a  rough 
green  sea,  I  have  leisure  to  enjoy  the  last  view  of  the 
Kotals,  rising  above  the  horizon  behind  like  a  far-reaching 
fortress  wall ;  and  there  is  not  a  shadow  of  bitterness  or 
reofret  in  the  reflection  that  I  liave  no  lonirer  anv  use  for 


A   TASTE  OF  CIVILIZATION  129 

them.  Bushire  has  no  harbor,  but  only  an  open  road- 
stead, Avhere  a  few  steamers  are  pitching  about  in  the 
rough  water ;  but  it  is  still  the  chief  port  of  the  south,  as 
all  the  freight  from  India  and  much  of  that  from  Encr- 
land  is  carried  up  into  the  interior  by  the  road  whicli  Ave 
had  descended.  The  high,  closely  packed  houses  of  the 
town,  with  latticed  Avindows  and  often  with  projecting 
upper  stories,  give  it  something  of  an  Arabic  character, 
which  is  borne  out  by  its  floating  population  of  gulf 
Arabs.  There  is  already  a  flavor  of  India  in  the  air, 
and  at  the  entrance  of  the  British  Residency,  which  stands 
on  the  sea-front,  a  group  of  tall  and  martial-looking  Sikhs, 
handsomely  uniformed,  are  mounting  guard. 

The  Resident,  on  whom  I  called,  had  recently  been  ap- 
pointed to  this  post,  after  a  long  and  distinguished  career 
in  India.  The  kindness  of  our  representative  had  pro- 
vided rooms  furnished  with  every  comfort  for  along  stay, 
including  a  cook  and  servants,  and  he  had  made  most 
accurate  guesses  as  to  the  nature  of  my  tastes  in  the 
matter  of  luxuries ;  indeed,  it  Avould  be  impossible  to 
imagine  hospitality  more  complete  or  more  gracefully 
extended.  But  the  arrival  of  the  steamer  next  day  pre- 
vented me  from  imposing  too  long  on  his  good  nature. 
The  gray,  stormy  weather  which  prevailed  at  Bushire 
seemed  to  strangely  affect  and  almost  totally  obliterate 
the  local  color  of  this  ultra-Oriental  seaport,  as  if  it  had 
borrowed  for  a  time  the  climate  of  Brittanv- 


IV 

Steamer  '*  Occidentals^''  Xoveinher  2i)th. — AVe  are  leav- 
ing Bushire,  and  steaming  slowly  out  into  the  gulf.  Hus- 
sein and  Carapet  came  down  to  the  pier  with  me,  and 
the  baggage,  increased  by  a  number  of  small   packages 


UNDER    THE    AWNINGS 


Strapped  up  in  the 
great  carpet  sacks, 
just  as  it  had  trav- 
elled from  Tabreez,  is 
pitched  into  a  lateen- 
sailed  lugger,  or  "bug- 
galow."  Two  custom-house  officers,  two  "hamals," 
or  porters,  some  small  vagabonds,  and  a  white-bearded 
old  beggar  who  trades  on  his  indistinct  articulation,  are 
all  clamoring  for  more  "  krans,"  while  the  boat  waits  for 
the  mail-bag  and  the  first  officer.  When  this  functionary 
is  on  board,  sail  is  hoisted,  and  we  run  three  miles  out  to 
the  steamer  under  a  lowering  sky  and  through  rough 
water.  A  white  Angora  cat  tied  to  a  bench  among  the 
baggage  seems  to  be  in  the  throes  of  seasickness.  As 
we  approach  the  ship,  steering  through  a  swarm  of  boats 
and  lighters  crowded  with  vociferating  Arabs  and  Per- 
sians shouting  at  the  mob  on  deck,  who  are  howling  back 
at  them,  we  have  great  difficulty  in  forcing  a  way  through, 
and  there  seems  to  be  no  room  on  the  quarter-deck  for 
one  more  passenger,  and  none  on  the  forward  part  of  the 


ASSORTED    FREIGHT  131 

sbip,  crowded  with  a  double  row  of  horses.  xVfter  vain 
attempts  to  reach  the  gangway  on  the  leeward  side,  we 
drift  round  the  stern  into  the  seething  and  bumping  jam 
of  boats,  and  a  rope-ladder  is  let  down  for  us,  while  the 
luggage  is  hoisted  and  pushed  up  the  side  of  the  ship  and 
over  the  rail.  There  is  not  a  European  on  board  save 
the  officers.  Canvas  screens  shut  off  the  small  quarter- 
deck from  the  forward  part  monopolized  by  the  horses. 
As  the  exportation  of  Persian  and  Arab  horses  is  the 
principal  business  of  the  gulf  ports,  and  the  boats  of  the 
British  India  line  being  the  only  regular  steamers  on  the 
coast,  their  decks  are  like  floating  stables.  Most  of  these 
horses  are  landed  at  Bombay,  and  transferred  to  the  Arab 
stables  in  the  quarter  known  as  Byculla,  where  they  sup- 
ply the  demand  for  polo  ponies  and  for  the  cavalry  ser- 
vice. Double  awnings  and  canvas  walls  make  a  dim  twi- 
light on  the  after-deck,  crowded,  like  the  rest  of  the  ship, 
with  Indians,  Beloochees,  and  Arabians,  A  part  of  the 
deck  is  taken  up  by  an  Indian  Xawab,  chief  of  a 
frontier  stronghold  in  Beloochistan,  and  his  retainers. 
His  Highness,  a  grizzled  and  w^eather-beaten  old  warrior, 
and  blind  of  one  eye,  which  is  quite  hidden  by  a  fold  of 
his  loosely  wound  turban,  draped  in  a  striped  mantle,  or 
"abya,"  such  as  one  sees  in  Palestine,  is  squatting  over 
his  hookah,  and  one  of  his  hirsute  followers  is  busily  en- 
gaged in  keeping  the  coals  aglow  in  a  small  furnace  from 
Avhich  the  pipes  are  lighted.  The  chiefs  interpreter,  a 
handsome  black-bearded  native  of  Scinde,  arrayed  in  a 
stunning  coat  made  from  an  imitation  leopard-skin  rug, 
now  comes  forward,  and  in  formal  and  precise  English 
explains  that  the  Xawab  wishes  to  know  whence  I  come, 
whither  I  am  going,  and  wiiat  is  my  mission  in  India. 
His  Highness  is  not  much  wiser  than  before  when  these 
things  are  explained  to  him,  but  he  asks  many  questions 


132  NARCOTICAL  TREATMENT 

about  America,  whether   the  caste  system  is  in  vogue 
there,  and  whether  it  is  as  large  as  Britain.  .  .  . 

5.30  P.M. — While  I  am  busy  in  my  cabin  opening  valises 
and  hand-bags  the  hubbub  and  uproar  increases  among  the 
boats,  which  are  swinging  and  bumping  together  under  the 
round  window  ;  men  are  running  wildly  down  the  gang- 
way, and  descending  by  ropes  past  the  open  port ;  the 
screw  begins  to  revolve,  the  boats  and  lighters  drop  astern, 
their  crews  wildly  struggling  to  keep  clear  of  the  ship, 
and  we  are  off  for  Kurrachee.  Here,  on  the  ship,  Persia 
ends  and  India  begins,  with  the  Portuguese  stewards  from 
Goa,  the  Indian  cooks,  the  N^awab  on  deck  with  his  hir- 
sute staff,  the  swinging  punkas  down  in  the  saloon,  and 
the  perpetual  curry.  At  dinner  the  captain  and  the 
officers,  all  young  men,  fill  up  the  table,  and  one  might 
travel  far  without  meeting  more  genial  company ;  the 
captain,  an  enthusiastic  "  aquarelliste  "  and  amateur  pho- 
tographer, understands  instinctively  the  necessities  of  the 
artistic  vocation,  and  proves  to  be  a  most  faithful  ally. 
While  we  lie  smoking  after  dinner  in  deck-chairs  on  the 
only  vacant  space,  which  is  between  two  of  the  cabin 
skylights,  we  are  conscious  of  a  persistent  and  monoto- 
nous tapping,  which  at  first  seems  to  come  from  the 
machinery,  but  is  traced  to  the  mahogany  roof  of  the 
skylight,  where  the  Xawab,  enveloped  in  a  pink  check 
shroud,  is  peacefully  dropping  off  to  sleep.  Two  of  his 
attendants  are  rapping  his  extended  joints,  thereby  pro- 
moting slumber :  this  is  the  percussion  system  of  massage 
treatment  practised  in  Beloochistan,  where  it  has  been 
known  for  ages.  Yerily  there  is  nothing  new  ;  but  when 
this  discovery  was  proclaimed  by  the  wise  heads  of  Paris 
all  the  world  flocked  thither  to  swell  their  coffers.  One 
of  the  Nawab's  followers  is  a  pale,  sad-faced  man,  of  a  dis- 
tinctly Moorish  type,  wearing  a  white  rag  of  a  turban 


THE  IRONY   OF  FATE  133 

wound  after  the  fashion  of  Tangier,  and  a  pair  of  dilapi- 
dated "European  shoes."  This  man  has  a  history.  '  He 
was  in  the  service  of  Yakoob  Khan,  late  Erair  of  Afghan- 
istan, and  now  a  state  prisoner  at  Rawal-Pindee  (India). 
After  the  political  events  which  led  to  the  downfall  of 
Yakoob  he  remained  some  time  in  India,  but  finally  re- 
turned to  Cabool  disguised  as  a  begging  dervish,  to  see 
his  wife  and  child.  He  was  discovered,  and  sentenced  to 
be  blown  from  the  mouth  of  a  gun.  He  dug  his  way  out 
of  prison  and  escaped  to  Beloochistan,  and  here  he  is 
again,  a  pensioner  of  the  Xawab. 

Lingah,,  Decemhei'  1st. — The  landing  at  the  chief  port 
of  Laristan  is  not  devoid  of  interest.  There  is  a  heavy 
surf,  and  the  small  harbor  or  basin  has  a  narrow  entrance. 
But  in  the  chief  officer's  boat,  which  is  lowered  the  mo- 
ment we  come  to  anchor,  one  cannot  but  feel  perfectly 
safe.  AVe  land  at  a  crowded  beach,  for  the  bazaar  of  the 
town  extends  quite  to  the  basin,  where  a  line  of  quaintly 
built  boats  is  drawn  up  on  shore,  and  the  remaining  space 
to  the  breakwater  is  filled  with  larger  vessels — Arab 
dhows,  or  bungalows,  like  those  in  which  Sindbad  the 
Sailor  made  his  historic  vovages  and  discovered  strange 
things.  Such  high  -  sterned  galleys  have  never  sailed  in 
Western  waters  since  the  days  of  Columbus,  and,  what  is 
stranger  still,  turbaned  Arabs  are  still  building  these  anti- 
quated but  seaworthy  vessels  on  the  beach,  where  ham- 
mers ring,  and  there  is  a  smell  of  rosin  and  of  shark's 
oil,  with  which  they  smear  the  timbers.  They  are  the 
"  plunging  boats  which  beat  from  Zanzibar,"  in  the  Sal- 
sette  boat-song  interpreted  by  Kipling. 

Leaving  the  low  yellow  walls  of  the  town  and  the  dark 
palm  groves  behind,  and  threading  a  way  among  the 
crowd  of  xVrab  sailors  and  "longshoremen"  which  throngs 
the  beach  strewn  with  baskets  and  vegetable  debris,  with 


BOATS  SEEN  FROM  THE  DECK 


bags  and  coils  of  rope  and  bundles  of  bamboo,  we  reach 
the  boat,  and,  waiting  for  a  favorable  moment,  shoot 
through  the  narrow  opening  of  the  breakwater  out  into 
the  roaring  surf,  which  is  now  running  high,  and  but  for 
the  timely  aid  of  our  commander,  tlie  first  officer,  we 
should  have  been  swamped  or  washed  back  on  the  beach. 
Bunder  Ahhas,  Decemher  2d. — A  day  of  rain,  of  tropical 
downpour,  and  the  awnings  are  weighted  with  water. 
The  N^awab  and  his  little  court  are  suffering  much  dis- 
comfort. Their  charcoal  furnace  on  the  quarter-deck  can- 
not be  kept  alight,  and  there  are  no  more  hot  coals  for 
the  "  hookahs."  All  day  long  we  are  surrounded  by  a 
crowd  of  boats  and  barges.  A  quaint  high -pooped  pin- 
nace, a  survival  of  ancient  days,  is  drifting  aimlessly 
about,  unable  to  discharge  its  cargo  of  eight  horses,  all 
busily  eating   from   their   nose  -  bags,   with   intervals   of 


A  MYSTERIOUS  GAME  135 

squealing  and  fighting.  This  ship  has  a  high  stern  cabin 
open  on  all  sides,  and  filled  with  coffee-bags  and  nameless 
rubbish  well  water -soaked,  like  the  crew.  Late  in  the 
afternoon  the  sky  clears,  and  a  lofty  purple  range  of  rocks 
becomes  visible  beyond  the  town.  Long  wreaths  of  va])or 
still  hang  on  the  lower  slopes,  and  there  are  momentary 
glimpses  of  snow-topped  heights  beyond.  Other  ranges 
appear  to  the  east  and  west,  and  against  the  sunset  is 
outlined  the  low  and  craggy  island  of  Ormus,  the  once 
famous  mart  of  Eastern  commerce.  Ravs  of  orang^e-tinted 
light  shine  through  the  openings  between  the  awnings 
and  their  pendent  canvas  screens.  There  is  a  rattle  of 
dice;  his  Highness,  squatting  on  a  clean  straw  mat,  is 
playing  a  queer  little  game  with  some  new-comer.  In 
the  middle  of  his  carpet  is  placed  a  square-armed  cross 
made  of  red  cloth,  and  the  arms  are  divided  into  squares 
by  white  lines,  on  which  are  placed  a  few  little  cones  of 
red  and  white  ivory.  The  rattling  is  done  with  four  or 
five  long  boxes  of  yellow  ivory.  On  either  side  of  the 
Xawab  squats  a  line  of  his  long-haired  and  loose-turbaned 
followers,  intent  on  the  game.  Xo  one  seemed  able  to 
explain  the  object  and  end  of  their  game,  which  will  re- 
main forever  a  mystery.  Many  new  passengers  have  come 
on  board,  the  horses  threaten  to  invade  the  quarter-deck, 
and  the  Nawab  is  obliged,  in  order  to  maintain  the  integ- 
rity of  his  domain,  to  place  a  guard  at  each  end  of  the 
space,  with  orders  to  resist  all  attempts  at  invasion,  ^[ost 
of  the  new-comers  are  Hindoos  and  Indians  of  varied 
castes.  The  cabin  next  mine  has  sheltered  a  constantly 
changing  population  of  yellow  people.  A  few  hours  ago 
it  was  occupied  by  a  semi -European,  or  Eurasian,  with 
two  Indian  servants.  He  has  gone,  and  among  the  new 
occupants  is  a  rather  handsome  young  Indian  girl,  with  a 
baby  ;  she  weal's  a  sort  of  transparent  half-mask  of  some 


136  MEAT  AND  MUEZZIN 

gilded  and  glittering  material,  after  the  fashion  of  Scinde, 
and  never  shows  her  face  in  public.  My  cabin  opens  into 
the  dimly  lighted  saloon,  where  the  punkas  hang  mo- 
tionless over  the  tables,  for  the  weather  has  clianged 
since  last  night,  when  the  mercury  stood  at  84°  Fahr.  in 
the  captain's  cabin  on  deck.  Swarthy  Portuguese  stew- 
ards are  laying  the  cloth ;  a  grim  gray  twilight  shows 
through  the  ports  of  the  rounded  stern,  and  two  shrouded 
Mussulmans  are  saying  their  prayers  on  the  only  vacant 
space  between  the  two  tables,  fenced  in  by  my  surplus 
baggage.  Down  the  stairway  leading  to  the  deck  blows 
the  west  wind,  laden  with  a  pungent  odor  of  stable,  and 
with  flying  straw  and  chaff.  Above,  on  deck,  the  crowd- 
ed horses  are  all  blanketed,  and  eating  comfortably  from 
their  bags ;  great  haunches  of  meat  hang  from  the  awn- 
ing-poles overhead.  Somewhere  in  the  bow  the  cry  of  a 
muezzin  is  heard,  and  in  the  clear  space  astern  a  group  of 
Moslems  are  praying  in  unison,  while  an  occasional  red 
ray  from  the  stormy  sunset  gilds  the  kneeling  figures. 
At  night  we  leave  Bunder  Abbas  for  Jask. 

In  former  days  Bunder  Abbas  was  of  greater  commer- 
cial importance,  but  of  late  other  avenues  of  trade  have 
been  opened  up,  although  it  is  still  the  focus  of  several 
caravan  routes  leading  to  the  interior  cities,  and  through 
them  to  Central  Asia  and  Afghanistan. 

Jask^  December  3d. — Only  a  long  sandy  point  is  visible 
from  the  deck  across  the  bay,  which  curves  to  the  left, 
following  the  line  of  a  distant  mountain  ridge.  We  cross 
the  surf,  and  land  on  the  beach  near  the  group  of  low 
buildings  surrounding  the  telegraph  station.  The  town 
itself  is  seven  miles  away.  As  we  walk  up  to  the  settle- 
ment the  air  is  hot  and  close,  although  there  is  a  light 
sea-breeze.  A  few  low  bungalows,  inhabited  by  the  tel- 
egraph staff,  are  grouped  about  the  offices,  and  there  are 


AN  ELECTRIC    SETTLEMENT 


137 


several  plantations  of  stunted  young  trees,  which  do  not 
appear  to  thrive  in  the  sandy  soil.  A  number  of  deserted 
bungalows  were  once  occupied  by  soldiers  sent  by  the 
Indian  Government,  but  they  are  now  ruinous,  and  their 
compounds  overgrown  with  weeds.  The  place  looks  Uke 
a  forsaken  cantonment  in  India,  and  the  bungalows  them- 
selves might  have  been  brought  from  that  country.  J  ask 
owes  its  present  importance  to  the  Indo-European  Tel- 


HORSES    OX    DECK 


egraph  Company.  There  are  two  submarine  cables,  one 
of  rubber  and  one  of  gutta-percha,  from  Jask  to  Bushire, 
and  one  cable  from  Jask  to  Kurrachee.  Tliere  is  a  sta- 
tion at  Charbar.  200  miles  from  Jask,  and  another  at 
Guadur,  112  miles  beyond  Cliarbar.  From  Jask  two 
land  wires  run,  each  a  complete  circuit,  to  Kurrachee. 
carried  by  one  set  of  iron  poles,  made  by  Siemen.  The 
cable  formerly  went  from  Jask  to  Guadur,  but  now  goes 


138  A  PICTURESQUE  HARBOR 

straight  to  Kurrachee.  There  is  also  a  station  at  Orma- 
rah,  and  one  at  Sonmeanee,  near  the  Indian  frontier,  but 
now  dismantled.    Morse's  alphabet  and  recorder  are  used. 

Muscat,  December  J^th. — Having  been  sole  occupant  of 
a  two  -  berthed  cabin,  hardly  large  enough  to  hold  my 
baggage,  and  littered  with  wet  sketches,  it  was  with 
something  like  dismay  that  I  saw  the  arrival  of  a  Euro- 
pean who  was  to  share  it  with  me ;  but  he  proved  to  be 
excellent  company,  and  I  was  the  gainer  in  the  end.  He 
had  been  making  a  scientific  invasion  of  some  remote 
province,  and  was  now  on  his  way  to  Simla,  in  order  to 
report. 

The  landlocked  harbor  of  Muscat,  shut  in  by  dark- 
hued  and  richly  colored  volcanic  crags,  rising  precipitously 
from  the  purple  and  glassy  water,  in  which  their  long  re- 
flections waver,  seems  almost  unreal  in  its  pictorial  and 
scenic  arrangement.  Like  a  vision  of  Claude  Lorraine, 
each  bold  promontory  and  ragged  peak  is  crowned  with  a 
little  castle  or  watch-tower — a  gleaming  white  or  yellow 
note  in  the  dark  landscape — dark,  although  flooded  with 
the  warm  light  of  a  tropical  sunrise ;  and  even  at  this 
early  hour  the  air  is  hot  and  steamy.  Behind  the  town 
rises  a  still  higher  pinnacle  of  splintered  rock,  and  a 
larger  castle  of  Portuguese  origin  seems  to  have  climbed 
up  from  the  massive  w^hite  houses  below.  High  up  on  a 
cliff  at  the  entrance  are  perpetuated  in  white  letters  the 
names  of  several  famous  vessels  which  have  visited  the 
port,  and  among  them  the  United  States  steamship  Brook- 
lyn is  conspicuous.  The  long,  square  facade  of  the  Sul- 
tan's palace,  with  a  line  of  balconied  and  latticed  windows, 
or  "  mousarabies,"  overlooks  the  placid  basin  where  his 
rusty  steam-yachts  lie  at  anchor.  The  flotilla  of  caravels 
and  galleys,  resembling  those  in  the  battle-scenes  by  Ve- 
netian painters  in  the  Doge's  palace,  which  surround  the 


140  AN  ORIENTAL   DANCE 

steamer,  is  crowded  with  naked   blacks,  whose  brawny 
shoulders  glisten  in  the  sunshine. 

We  descend  with  infinite  care  into  a  narrow  and  crank 
canoe  floored  with  straw  matting,  and  are  sculled  to  the 
landing.  A  black  guide  offers  his  services,  and  we  wander 
out  of  the  town,  passing  through  the  grateful  shadow  of 
a  deep  gateway,  where  the  soldiers  of  the  Arab  guard, 
wearing  wide,  loose  turbans  of  some  striped  material, 
lounge  on  the  benches.  Their  ponderous  matchlocks  are 
hung  on  the  walls  behind  them.  We  have  no  concerted 
plan,  and  care  not  which  way  we  turn,  for  all  is  new  to 
us,  but  hardly  changed  since  the  days  of  great  Caliphate 
of  Bagdad.  A  sandy  road  through  a  suburb  of  huts 
built  of  canes,  palm  leaves,  and  matting  leads  into  a  deep 
ravine  with  perpendicular  cliffs  on  each  side.  There  is  a 
sound  of  music,  and  farther  on  a  dance  is  just  beginning. 
The  floor  of  this  open-air  ball-room  is  like  a  tennis-court, 
and  the  low  wall  surrounding  it  is  crowded,  like  the 
rising  ground  beyond,  with  gay  and  laughing  spectators. 
All  are  Africans  or  Arabians  * — "  Sidis  "  they  are  called — 
and  the  dancers  are  mostly  women.  Many  of  these 
ebony  sirens  are  not  uncomely,  and  look  excessively  good- 
natured.  They  are  richly  and  daintly  costumed ;  many 
wear  transparent  masks  of  gold  lace  like  the  women  of 
Scinde,  which  half  conceal  their  faces,  and  heavy  clink- 
ing anklets,  with  other  ornaments  of  gold.  The  dance 
begins  like  a  sort  of  promenade,  accompanied  by  much 
clapping  of  hands.  My  shipmate's  knowledge  of  Eastern 
tongues  enables  him  to  chaff  with  these  ladies,  and  in- 
sures a  welcome.     We  are  even  invited  to  take  part  in 


*  I  have  used  the  term  Arabians  to  denote  the  inhabitants  of  the 
peninsula  of  Arabia  and  its  adjoining  islands,  as  the  word  Arab  is  so 
often  applied  to  all  races  from  India  to  Morocco. 


FABRIC  WEAVERS 


141 


the  festivities.  "When  we  return,  by  another  path,  to  the 
city,  under  the  straw  awnings  of  the  bustling  fruit 
market,  we  stroll  through  the  spice-scented  gloom  of  the 
narrow  streets  shaded  b}^  the  projecting  latticed  windows, 
and  along  open  arcades  where  weavers  are  manipulating 
threads  of  scarlet  and  gold  at  their  looms,  to  the  little 
shop  of  the  postmaster.  He  is  a  grave  and  well-educated 
"Baboo" — i.e.^  Bengali — representing  the  modern  element 
of  Muscat,  and  we  sit  down  to  have  a  chat  with  him. 

The  ponderous  gates  to  the  Sultan's  palace  across  the 
street  now  swing  open,  and  a  guard  of  soldiers  preced- 
ing a  group  of  richly  dressed  courtiers  comes  forth.  It 
would  not  have  surprised  us  had  the  Grand  Yizier  Mes- 


BI.ACK    SIRENS    OF    MISCAT 


142  AN  AUDIENCE 

rour  suddenly  stepped  into  this  ninth-century  foreground 
with  a  message  from  the  CaHph,  and  just  then  our  guide 
says  that  the  Sultan's  brother,  who  is  the  centre  of  the 
group,  wishes  to  speak  with  us.  He  is  under  the  im- 
pression that  we  have  come  to  pay  our  respects  to  the 
Sultan,  and,  only  too  willing  to  embrace  the  opportunity, 
we  send  our  cards.  After  a  brief  delay  we  are  ushered 
into  the  court-yard,  accompanied  by  the  postmaster,  who 
kindly  offers  his  services  as  interpreter,  and  mount  the 
great  outer  staircase  to  a  long  and  narrow  whitewashed 
room.  A  range  of  arm-chairs  standing  on  a  ledge  raised 
above  the  floor  extends  entirely  around  the  room.  Both 
of  the  longer  walls  are  quite  taken  up  by  the  open 
windows,  through  which  blows  the  soft  tropical  sea-breeze, 
and  the  glare  of  intense  light  reflected  from  the  orange 
cliffs  which  rise  just  beyond  a  strip  of  deep  blue  water 
under  the  windows  of  the  seaAvard  side  fills  the  room 
with  a  strange  glow.  The  sole  ornaments  are  a  few  old 
European  and  American  clocks.  The  Sultan  enters  with 
a  throng  of  gray -bearded  ministers  and  a  little  boy 
richly  costumed.  His  Highness  seats  himself  at  one  end 
of  the  room,  and  his  followers  sit  down  in  the  long  row 
of  chairs  at  his  left.  He  is  a  handsome  young  fellow, 
with  a  clear  cafe  cm  lait  complexion  and  curling  black 
beard ;  quietly  dressed,  his  sole  ornament  is  a  gold- 
mounted  and  jewelled  dagger.  He  is  a  brother  of  the 
Sultan  of  Zanzibar.  This  Sultan  is  a  "  camera  fiend "; 
he  knows  all  about  the  Eastman  Company,  and  wants 
the  address  of  the  best  maker  in  Paris.  One  of  his 
dreams  is  to  visit  that  city,  renowned  for  its  hospitality 
to  Eastern  potentates,  and  from  the  evident  gayety  of 
his  nature  one  might  infer  that  he  would  not  suffer  from 
ennui  /  but  he  explained  that  the  state  of  his  little  king- 
dom would  not  permit  a  long  absence  at  present.     The 


A  PROMISCUOUS  CROWD  143 

interview  was  now  concluded,  and  after  drinking  in  pru- 
dent measure  the  sweetened  liquid  proffered  in  tall  glasses, 
we  took  leave  of  his  Highness  and  went  to  the  British 
Residency.  Here  tall  Indian  servants,  with  regimental 
badges  on  their  turbans,  stand  at  the  doorway.  The 
sea-breeze  sweeps  through  the  open  rooms,  across  a 
balcony  of  great  depth,  furnished  also  with  divans  and 
arm-chairs.  As  at  the  Sultan's  palace,  the  balcony  looks 
down  into  the  water,  which  mirrors  a  great  wall  of  daz- 
zling and  glaring  rock,  with  a  castle  clinging  to  its 
face,  and  so  near  that  we  can  feel  the  heat  thrown  back 
from  its  surface.  Through  a  narrow  triangular  gap  the 
deep,  dark  blue  of  the  outer  sea  is  visible.  In  summer 
this  place  is  a  furnace,  situated  as  it  is  almost  on  the 
northern  tropic,  and  even  now  the  temperature  recalls 
that  of  Bombay  in  April.  The  captain  joins  us  at  lunch, 
and  we  all  go  out  to  call  on  our  consular  representative. 
As  the  tide  had  ebbed  when  we  reached  the  captain's 
boat,  we  rode  out  to  it  on  the  backs  of  the  Lascar  sailors. 
Those  who  have  seen  the  "barren  rocks  of  Aden'^ 
rise  from  the  glassy  bay  when  there  is  no  wind  at  sun- 
set can  readily  understand  how  Muscat  looked  in  the 
intense  color  of  its  setting  as  we  were  pulled  out  to  the 
ship.  The  deck  now  has  a  decided  list  to  one  side  with 
its  increased  human  and  equine  freight ;  there  is  no 
room  to  walk  without  stepping  on  the  outstretched  toes 
of  the  reclining  multitude  or  the  fingers  of  children 
sprawling  among  them.  'What  was  before  open  space 
is  now  packed  with  a  dense  mass  of  brown  and  yellow 
humanit3%  in  which  every  race  of  India  might  seem  to 
be  represented.  They  lie  on  the  benches,  on  their  piles 
of  bedding,  boxes,  bundles,  and  crates,  while  tlie  inter- 
stices are  closely  packed  with  smaller  articles,  baskets  of 
highly  scented    fruit,  guavas    and   bananas,   water-}ii)>es» 


MUSCAT   FROM    THE    HOUSE-TOPS SUNSET 


"chatties,"  and  coflfee-pots.  A  strange  and  musky  odor, 
like  the  smell  of  a  Bombay  street,  intermingled  with 
whiffs  of  smoke  from  the  hookahs,  and  a  faint  aroma 
of  attar  of  roses,  no'.v  pervades  the  ship ;  and  beautiful 
are  the  effects  of  light  under  the  awnings  and  canvas 
screens  when  the  afternoon  sunshine  lies  in  long  patches, 
cross-hatched  with  the  violet  shadows  of  the  netting,  on 
the  deck,  and  brown  faces  alternately  reflect  the  golden 
light  of  the  west  and  the  cold  blue  tones  from  the  Avater. 
Among  the  new  passengers  is  a  young  Hindoo  from  the 
Punjaub  with  his  servant;  he  is  a  scientist  in  govern- 
ment service,  and  in  addition  to  his  own  specialty  has 
found  time  to  become  a  promising  electrician.  He  has  a 
round,  jovial  face,  is  constantly  laughing  and  displaying 
a  fine  set  of  teeth,  and  looks  about  twenty-five  years  of 
age.     His  costume  of  gray  frieze  is   European,  and  he 


A  MANY-SIDED  HINDOO  145 

wears  a  flat  black  velvet  cap.  This  gentleman  is  a  wel- 
come addition  to  our  circle,  and  without  apparent  effort 
gives  a  spurt  of  renewed  life  to  the  after-dinner  talk. 
The  little  vacant  space  on  the  quarter-deck,  of  which  the 
captain's  chair  is  the  centre,  now  becomes  a  sort  of 
"cenacle"  when  the  lanterns  are  lighted,  and  our  Hindoo 
friend  ranges  joyously  from  one  topic  to  another,  ex- 
pressing himself  in  sonorous  and  correct  English,  rolling 
his  R's,  and  prefixing  each  statement  with  "  you  see, 
sir,"  which  contrasts  finely  with  the  Scotch  and  Irish  ac- 
cent of  the  others.  I  think  we  began  with  Edison's  latest 
inventions  and  what  is  being  done  by  rival  electricians; 
but  just  now  he  is  reading  Darwin  and  Herbert  Spencer, 
and  from  these  points  of  departure,  in  an  air}',  optimistic, 
half -mocking  vein,  he  flutters  lightly  on  like  a  butterfly 
in  a  garden,  through  the  realms  of  speculative  science : 
from  Emerson,  Carlyle,  Professor  Fiske,  by  easy  tran- 
sitions, to  Bellamy's  socialistic  millennium.  Buddhism, 
Theosophy,  Longfellow,  and  we  are  let  down  at  last  to 
the  hard  present  with  the  Presidential  election,  Glad- 
stone, Parnell,  Home  Rule,  and  the  Chicago  exhibition. 
Having  touched  upon  Indian  art  and  the  Art  idea  in 
general,  he  became  inspired  with  the  beauty  of  the  tropic 
night,  the  wake  of  fire  streaming  behind  us,  and  the 
"larger  constellations  burning"  overhead.  Of  course  he 
cannot  be  taken  as  an  average  example  of  the  way  Eng- 
land is  educating  India,  but  the  wide -spreading  turbans 
of  that  countr}--  often  shelter  active  brains.  .  .  . 

It  was  almost  with  re^j'ret  that  Ave  sio-hted  the  low  sand- 
hills  of  Kurracliee,  and  steamed  up  the  narrow  canal 
among  the  uncouth  iron  monsters  of  progress  —  tower- 
ing cranes,  rattling  steam  -  dredges,  and  shunting  trains 
of  freight  cars.  In  the  deafening  uproar  from  the  mob 
of  Indians  and  Parsees  which  now  invades  the  deck  it 


146  JUST   LIKE  HOME 

is  almost  imjiossible  to  take  leave  of  our  friends  the 
officers.  There  is  a  raomentar}'  glimpse  of  the  Beloochees, 
rallying  round  their  chief,  now  armed  with  their  guns 
and  •'  tulwars,"  which  had  been  restored  to  them,  and  we 
descend  into  a  lateen-sailed  boat,  which  takes  us  to  the 
iron  sheds  of  the  custom-house.  AYe  presently-  emerge, 
and  are  swallowed  up  in  the  roaring  and  struggling 
throng  of  cab-drivers,  hitherto  kept  at  a  distance  b}"  the 
clubs  of  the  police. 


LAHORE   AND   THE   PUXJAUB 

I 

OxLY  a  few  months  ago,  when  all  Paris  had  flocked 
into  the  streets  to  welcome  the  officers  of  the  Russian 
fleet,  and  on  the  gala- night  when  an  act  from  the  Itol 
de  Lahore  was  given  at  the  Opera,  bj^  a  coincidence 
noted  at  the  time  in  the  columns  of  the  Fkjaro,  the  last 
Maharajah  of  Lahore  lay  dead  in  his  hotel  near  the 
Champs-filysees.  He  was  the  last  of  the  sons  of  Runjeet 
Singh,  and  after  the  death  of  his  father,  and  when  the 
Sikh  war,  followed  by  repeated  uprisings,  had  ended  with 
the  total  defeat  of  Shir  Singh,  the  power  of  the  Sikhs  as 
a  nation  was  broken,  the  Punjaub  annexed  by  the  gov- 
ernment of  India,  and  Lahore  ceased  to  be  the  capital  of 
a  kingdom.     These  events  took  place  in  1849. 

The  3'oung  Maharajah  was  invited  to  take  up  his  resi- 
dence in  England  as  a  guest  of  the  nation,  and  the  first 
Lieutenant-Governor  ruled  in  his  place.  Although  the 
Sikhs  gave  ample  evidence  of  their  prowess  at  the  battle 
of  Chilian wala  and  in  other  engagements,  they  have  since 
remained  firmly  loyal  to  the  British  "  Raj,"  *  and  it  is  to- 
day generally  admitted  that  the  suppression  of  the  mu- 
tiny a  few  years  later  was  mainly  owing  to  their  support, 
as  well  as  to  that  of  the  other  Punjaubi  regiments.  Upon 
entering  India  from  the  north  one   is  made  aware  of  the 

*  Veruaculai'  for  siovernmcnt. 


148  A  FINE   MILITARY   POSITION 

importance  attached  to  the  maintenance  of  the  frontier 
in  a  permanent  state  of  defence  by  the  predominance  of 
the  military  element.  The  "troopers"  now  land  their 
passengers  at  Kurrachee ;  and  along  the  railway  to  Lahore, 
at  intervals  of  a  hundred  miles,  there  are  "  rest  stations," 
provided  with  soldiers'  quarters,  adjoining  the  railway 
buildings. 

In  the  event  of  the  long-looked-for  invasion  from  the 
north — now  more  of  a  shadowy  phantom  than  ever,  since 
the  success  of  Sir  Mortimer  Durand's  mission  to  the  Ameer 
of  Afghanistan — Lahore,  being  a  rapidly  growing  railway 
centre,  would  become  a  most  important  point  of  distri- 
bution and  base  of  supplies.  It  is  only  nineteen  hours 
from  Peshawur  in  front  of  the  Khyber  Pass,  through 
which  most  of  the  Moslem  conquerors  found  their  way 
to  the  great  treasure-house  of  India,  and  it  has  direct 
railway  communication  with  Quetta,  commanding  what 
is  believed  to  be  the  only  other  practicable  entrance. 

The  railway  to  Quetta  starts  from  Ruk  Junction  (on 
the  Northwestern  Railway),  and  the  distance  is  two  hun- 
dred and  eighty-nine  miles.  Quetta,  surrounded  by  thirty- 
eight  miles  of  fortifications,  including  small  detached  forts 
commanding  different  positions,  and  provisioned  for  an 
eight  months'  siege,  is  considered  as  practically  impreg- 
nable. The  two  or  three  other  passes  in  this  section  have 
no  thoroughfare  for  artillery,  and  the  Bolan  Pass  can  be 
easily  defended  by  a  small  number  of  men,  as  there  are 
narrow  passages  between  steep  walls  of  limestone  where 
only  three  or  four  can  ride  abreast.  The  railway  now 
goes  on  to  New  Chaman,  only  one  hundred  miles  or  so 
from  Candahar.* 

*  Latest  advices  from  India  state  that  tlie  Ameer  during  tlie  recent 
negotiations  decided  to  allow  the  railway  to  be  extended  several  miles 
into  his  territory  be3'ond  New  Chaman. 


A  LUCKY  AMEER  149 

It  was  definitely  settled  during  the  recent  negotiations 
at  Cabool  that  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Indian  government 
should  include  this  point. 

The  ostensible  object  of  Sir  Mortimer  Durand's  mission 
was  the  settlement  of  certain  questions  relating  to  por- 
tions of  the  frontier  hitherto  left  undefined,  and  which 
were  a  fruitful  cause  of  disputes,  as  well  as  to  promote  a 
better  understanding  between  the  two  powers.  If  one 
ma}^  judge  from  the  tone  of  the  press,  the  results  of  this 
conference  have  given  much  satisfaction  in  India,  and  an 
added  sense  of  security,  while  the  Ameer,  on  his  side,  may 
well  congratulate  himself  on  the  importance  attached  to 
his  friendship.  He  is  also  the  gainer  by  six  lakhs*  of  ru- 
pees, to  be  added  to  his  annual  subsidy  of  twelve  lalvhs, 
and  it  has  been  proposed  to  decorate  him  with  the  Order 
of  the  Bath.  It  is  generally  understood,  however,  that 
he  did  not  offer  to  make  any  concession  in  the  matter  of 
railways,  and  the  consideration  of  this  delicate  question 
was  postponed  to  a  more  convenient  season. 

Although  the  Ameer  seems  to  appreciate  the  advan- 
tages which  may  accrue  to  him  from  friendly  relations 
with  the  Indian  government,  he  also  values  his  position 
as  an  independent  sovereign,  and,  like  the  Sultan  of  Mo- 
rocco, is  not  over-anxious  to  be  brought  into  closer  con- 
tact with  powerful  neighbors. 

With  the  Ameer  as  an  ally,  Afghanistan  becomes  a 
formidable  breastwork  against  any  advance  from  the 
north,  and  he  probably  realizes  that  in  the  event  of  a 
Russian  occupation  of  India  he  would  not  long  be  able 
to  maintain  his  present  independent  position.  Now  that 
he  is  reorganizing  his  army  according  to  "Western  stand- 


*  A  lakh  at  the  present  rate  of  the  rupee  is  somewhere  iu  the  neigh- 
borhood of  130,000. 


150  A  FIGHTING  RACE 

ards  of  efficiency — arming  it  with  machine-guns  and  other 
improvements,  and  has  gone  deeply  into  the  manufacture 
of  war  material  at  his  extensive  factories  in  Cabool  under 
European  direction  * — Afghanistan  is  becoming  a  power 
to  be  reckoned  with  in  any  case.  It  is  noticeable  that 
the  men  who  have  met  and  conquered  the  Afghans  in 
former  days,  as  well  as  in  recent  campaigns,  speak  with 
marked  respect  of  their  military  prowess.  Such  average 
specimens  of  these  surly  hirsute  sons  of  Anak  as  one 
meets  in  the  bazaars  of  Delhi  or  Lahore  enable  one  to  real- 
ize that  they  are  excellent  fighting  material,  and  they 
look  as  if  they  might  have  descended  directly  from  the 
primitive  men  of  the  stone  age.  These  nomadic  Afghans 
and  Pathans  from  the  hills  of  the  frontier  are,  for  the 
most  part,  peaceable  peddlers  of  "  notions,"  Cabool  grapes, 
and  other  fruit,  or  they  are  horse-dealers  and  camel-driv- 
ers. Like  the  Persians,  they  are  lighter  in  color  than  any 
race  of  India,  but  ruddy,  deeply  sunburnt  or  tanned,  and 
begrimed  with  dust.  Their  national  costume  is  far  from 
graceful  or  elegant,  consisting  of  a  mass  of  dirty-white 
cotton  drapery,  loose,  flapping  skirts,  a  well-worn  sheep- 
skin coat,  and  a  dark  turban,  called  a  koola,  which  has 
once  been  blue,  loosely  twisted  around  a  pointed  cap  cov- 
ering a  fringe  of  shaggy  hair. 

Many  Afghans,  Pathans,  and  Beloochees  now  take  ser- 
vice under  the  English  colors,  and  some  regiments  are 
mainly  recruited  among  these  cutthroats  of  the  border- 
land. These  fellows  need  a  lot  of  training  before  they 
can  be  got  into  proper  shape,  but  it  is  precisely  this  ele- 
ment which  gives  to  the  Indian  army  its  peculiar  stamp, 
its  appearance  of  disciplined,  business-like  ferocity.     The 

*  Some  of  tlie  Martinis  matl«  at  the  Cabool  factories  were  recently  tried 
on  the  ranges  at  Peshawur,  and,  according  to  the  India  journals,  were 
found  to  be  quite  satisfactory. 


GATE    OF   THE    MOSQCE    TAZIK    KHAN 


152  A   MILITARY  SPECTACLE 

Afghans  and  Pathans  have  a  reputation  for  dash  and 
pluck  akin  to  that  of  the  Irish,  although  they  are  said  to 
lack  the  steady,  staying  qualities  of  the  Sikhs.  While  it 
is  usual  to  undervalue  the  elements  of  physique  and  initi- 
ative in  these  days  of  machine-guns  and  smokeless  pow- 
der, these  qualities  must  ever  play  a  prominent  ]iart  in 
border  warfare  among  the  rugged  defiles  and  winding 
passes  of  the  northern  frontier.  These  men  of  the  north, 
while  they  can  be  regarded  only  as  a  part  of  the  float- 
ing population,  and  are  encountered  in  every  large  city 
of  India,  are  yet  numerous  enough  in  the  streets  of  La- 
hore and  Araritsar,  or  Mooltan,  to  give  a  decided  tinge  to 
the  character  of  the  crowds.  When  we  analyze  these 
crowds  in  detail  as  they  pass  through  the  bazaars,  we 
shall  find  that  the  most  pronounced,  the  most  conspicu- 
ously local  types,  are  the  Sikhs.  Up  to  the  time  of  the 
annexation  they  were  the  ruling  class,  although  far  from 
being  the  strongest  numerically.  Originally  a  military 
race,  both  by  inherited  tradition  and  by  natural  tendency, 
many  of  them  have  become  cultivators,  since  the  oppor- 
tunities for  active  service  are  few  at  present,  but  a  large 
number  of  them  form  the  "  corps  d'elite"  of  the  Punjaub 
army.  A  Sikh  regiment  on  parade  is  a  spectacle  which 
offers  some  novel  points  of  difference  when  contrasted 
with  the  materiel  of  most  European  armies  with  which 
the  unprofessional  observer  ma}^  be  familiar.  When  first 
seen  in  the  distance  they  present  the  appearance  of  a 
long  scarlet  band  of  uniform  thickness,  supported  by 
slender  black  lines ;  as  they  approach  they  are  seen  to  be 
unusually  tall,  black  -  bearded  fellows,  uniformed  in  red 
tunics,  and  with  great  red  turbans  which  increase  their 
apparent  height,  while  close-fitting  black  gaiters  accentu- 
ate the  thinness  of  their  legs.  Whoever  has  watched  the 
drill  of  the  Grenadier  Guards  in  London  may  form  an 


TYPICAL  SOLDIERS  153 

idea  of  tlie  precision  which  seems  to  be  the  standard  of 
the  Sikhs.  They  may  be,  perhaps,  a  shade  more  rigid  in 
their  "  good  form,"  with  an  appearance  of  greater  effort, 
due  to  the  fact  that  European  discipline  is  as  yet  to  them 
like  a  strange  garment  to  the  wearer.  The  observer  will 
not  be  slow  in  realizing  that  he  has  before  him  not  only 
a  different  race,  but  a  different  specie  of  the  human 
animal.  As  in  Europe  there  does  not  exist  at  the  present 
day  a  strictly  military  caste,  the  conscripts  who  people 
the  casernes  are  drawn  at  haphazard  from  workshops, 
farms,  and  from  the  slums  of  cities,  and  do  not  impress 
one,  save  in  the  case  of  a  few  bodies  of  picked  men,  as 
having  any  special  aptitude  for  the  calling  of  arms. 
These  men,  tall,  sinewy,  and  athletic,  supple  and  feline  in 
their  movements,  are  evidently  endowed  with  a  peculiar 
fitness  for  their  vocation,  and  look  as  if  little  were  needed 
to  arouse  their  traditional  instincts.  In  the  averao^e  regi- 
ments  of  the  Punjaub  no  men  are  taken  under  five  feet 
six  inches  in  height  and  thirty -three  inches  round  the 
chest ;  in  some  regiments  none  under  five  feet  seven ;  but 
judging  from  the  strapping  fellows  in  the  Sikh  regiments, 
their  standard  must  be  still  higher.  Although  the  Pa- 
thans  and  Sikhs  are  usually  given  the  first  rank  for  sol- 
dierly qualities  and  bearing,  the  "  Goorkhas,"  of  Mongo- 
lian race,  from  the  hills  of  Nepal  and  Assam,  are  nearly 
if  not  quite  as  efficient.*  Being  of  small  and  \vir\'^  pkV' 
sique,  they  do  not  make  such  an  imposing  appearance  on 
parade,  but  they  are  fine  mountaineers,  full  of  fire  and 
pluck  in  action,  and  at  such  times,  when  their  innate  fe- 
rocity comes  to  the  surface,  their  officers  often  have  dif- 

*  An  officer  who  has  held  with  honor  and  distinction  several  of  the 
highest  positions  in  the  service  has  just  added  in  a  note.  "  I  think  it  is 
a  toss-up  between  Goorlihas  and  Sikhs  for  the  first  place,  Pathans  com- 
ing third." 


]54  THE   BENGAL   ARMY 

ficulty  in  restraining  them.  What  is  known  as  the 
"  Bengal  army,"  including  the  old  Punjaub  frontier  force, 
comprises  sixty -five  battalions  of  infantry,  of  which  the 
greater  part  are  Goorkhas,  Sikhs,  and  other  Punjaubis, 
two  mountain  batteries  kept  for  small  expeditions  (with 
mules),  and  twenty-three  regiments  of  cavalry,  of  Avhich 
nine  are  ''  lancers."  *     Each  of  these  regiments  is  com- 

*  Roughly  estimated,  the  Bengal  army  is  constituted  as  follows : 
Camlry. — Twenty-three  regiments,  composed  of  14  light  cavalry,  9 
lancer  regiments.     Of  these  4  only  are  called  Punjaubi  cavalry,  though 
the  composition  of  the  rest  includes  a  large  number  of  Punjaubis.    Nine- 
teen regiments  with  8  troops  each  (152),  classed  thus- 

Troops 

Hindostani  jMohammedans  from  Bengal 28 

Punjaubi  Mohammedans 26 

Independent  tribes  from  beyond  northwest  frontier — i.e.,  Pa- 

thans 3 

Border  tribes  within  British  territory  (Pathans),  Mohamme- 
dans between  the  Indus  and  the  Khyber  Pass 13 

Sikhs  (Punjaubis) 39 

Dogras  (Punjaubis) 12 

Hindostani  Rajpoots 8 

Hindoos  from  Bengal  proper 24 

Total 1.52 

Infantry. — Sixty-five  battalions,  of  which  16  only  are  recruited  from 
Bengal,  the  Northwrest  Provinces,  and  Oude.  Nine  are  pure  Sikh 
regiments ;  13  Goorkha  regiments ;  27  Punjaubi  regiments.  These  27 
Punjaubi  regiments  are  generally  half  Hindoo  and  half  Mussulman. 

Artillery. — Two  mountain  batteries  with  mules. 

The  term  "  Punjaubi  "  as  here  used  includes  Pathans  (trans-frontier 
and  cis  -  frontier),  (all  Mussulmans),  Punjaubi  Mohammedans,  Sikhs, 
Dogras  (Hindoos). 

The  Indian  army  at  present  consists  of  three  main  forces — the  Bengal, 
Bombay,  and  Madras  armies.  The  Bengal  army  is  quartered  in  Bengal, 
Assam,  the  Northwest  Provinces,  and  the  Punjaub,  while  Quetta,  for 
some  reason,  is  garrisoned  from  the  Bombay  army. 

These  different  divisions  have  just  been  made  into  army  corps,  all 
under  one  commander-in-chief  in  India — i.e.,  the  Bengal,  iVIadras,  Bom- 
bay, and  Northwest  Frontier  forces. 


156  INEXPENSIVE  INFANTRY 

manded  by  English  oiScers — the  commandant,  two  "  wing 
commanders,"  four  wing  officers,  of  whom  two  act  as 
quartermaster  and  adjutant,  and  one  medical  officer. 
Next  come  the  native  officers — eight  "subadars"  (rank- 
ing as  captains),  eight  "jemadars,"  sixteen  buglers,  and 
eighty  others  (havildars  and  naiks),  and  then  the  rank 
and  file,  eight  hundred  sepoys.  In  the  Punjaubi  frontier 
force  nearly  all  regiments  are  dressed  in  mud -colored 
kharki  drill,  blue  turbans,  blue  or  kharki  knickerbockers, 
and  white  gaiters,  while  five  regiments  of  Sikhs  wear  red 
coats.  The  British  officers  seem  to  live  for  the  most  part 
on  excellent  terms  with  the  native  officers,  addressing 
them  always  (in  the  Hindostani  equivalent)  as  Sir,  al- 
though the  subadars  actually  rank  below  the  junior  sub- 
altern. All  these  men  are  volunteers  or  enlisted  men, 
and  the  terms  of  enlistment  are  peculiar.  The  period  of 
the  first  engagement  is  three  years,  after  which  the  sepoy 
may  claim  his  discharge  if  there  is  no  prospects  of  hos- 
tilities, and  even  within  that  time  it  is  often  granted  for 
adequate  reasons.  Each  sepoy  gets  seven  rupees  a  month, 
with  a  gradual  increase  after  three  years'  service  and 
good  conduct.  Out  of  this  he  has  to  pay  for  his  own 
food,  which  costs  him  three  and  a  half  rupees  per  month, 
but  he  receives  thirty  rupees  on  enlistment  to  help  pur- 
chase his  uniform,  and  five  rupees  annually  to  keep  it  up. 
He  has  also  two  suits  a  year  provided  by  government, 
besides  blankets  and  other  articles,  and  he  has  also  a 
chance  to  make  a  little  money  by  musketry  prizes  and  in 
other  small  ways,  although  he  does  not  usually  manage 
to  save  much  of  his  pay. 

The  total  annual  cost  of  a  native  regiment,  including 
the  pay  of  the  British  officers,  and  all  other  expenses,  is 
w^ell  under  two  lakhs  of  rupees,  and  it  may  be  considered 
the  cheapest  infantry  in  the  world.     The  "  sowar,"  or 


ACCOMPLISHED  LINGUISTS  157 

native  trooper  in  tlie  cavalry,  is  rather  more  of  a  swell 
than  the  infantry  sepoy,  since  he  must  be  a  capitalist  be- 
fore he  can  serve  the  "  British  Raj."  He  has  first  to  de- 
posit two  hundred  rupees  towards  the  purchase  of  his 
horse,  and  his  pay  is  thirty-one  rupees  per  month,  out  of 
which  he  has  to  find  everything.  Thus  the  regiment 
mounts  itself,  and  none  of  the  horses  belong  to  govern- 
ment. The  position  of  an  ambitious  young  officer,  es- 
pecially if  he  be  desirous  of  passing  into  the  staff  corps, 
entails  steady  work,  for  in  any  case  he  has  to  become  an 
accomplished  linguist.  As  Hindostani  only  is  spoken  in 
the  regiment,  he  must  pass  the  '•  higher  standard ''  in  that 
language,  with  written  exercises  in  a  character  resem- 
bling the  Sanscrit ;  "  Urdu,''  which  is  written  in  Pereian 
characters ;  and  if  there  are  Pathans  in  his  regiment  he 
is  expected  to  pass  an  examination  in  their  dialect,  as 
well  as  to  learn  something  of  the  Punjaubi  dialect,  which, 
however,  is  a  "  voluntary.'' 

The  native  officers  have  either  risen  from  the  ranks  or 
are  more  rarely  commissioned  directly  from  the  Viceroy 
if  sons  of  deserving  men.  In  the  long  list  of  camp-fol- 
lowers attached  to  each  regiment  many  peculiar  voca- 
tions are  represented,  such  as  sweepers,  water-carriers  or 
"  bhisties,"  a  Mohammedan  moollah,  a  Sikh  priest,  and  a 
Hindoo  priest;  also  two  native  schoolmasters,  one  to 
teach  English  and  the  other  Hindostani.  Most  of  these 
enlisted  men  are  farmers,  recruited  in  the  country  and  in 
villages,  and  never  in  towns ;  they  are  allowed  to  visit 
their  homes  at  stated  intervals,  with  free  passage  by  rail, 
and  in  other  ways  their  servitude  is  rendered  compara- 
tively light ;  there  are  also  liberal  pension  arrangements, 
and  each  regiment  has  its  own  reserve.  Many  of  these 
regiments,  besides  the  Sikhs  and  Goorkhas.  have  achieved 
distinction  in  foreign  campaigns,  and  among  others  the 


158  SOLDIERS'   SPORTS 

Bengal  Lancers,  who  served  in  the  Egyptian  war.  We 
happened  to  be  on  a  steamer  which  was  one  of  the 
first  to  pass  through  the  canal  when  it  was  opened  to 
traffic  after  the  close  of  hostilities,  and  while  strolling 
about  in  Suez  in  the  company  of  an  officer  of  the  Madras 
army  we  chanced  upon  a  couple  of  these  troopers.  My 
companion  was  anxious  to  inform  himself  as  to  the  part 
they  took  at  the  battle  of  Tel-el-Kebir,  having  the  glory 
of  the  Indian  contingent  at  heart.  He  proceeded  to 
question  them  in  Hindostani,  and  they  answered  as  if  on 
the  witness-stand.  According  to  their  statements,  cor- 
roborated afterwards  in  Bombay,  it  was  they  who  had 
routed  and  cut  down  the  flying  remnants  of  Arabi 
Pasha's  army.  A  few  days  later,  while  Ave  still  lingered 
on  at  Bombay,  in  spite  of  the  October  heat — for  the  city 
was  new  to  us  then,  and  full  of  a  strange  exotic  charm — 
the  troop-ships  arrived  with  all  the  Indian  contingent, 
and  during  the  fetes  which  followed  we  had  the  opportu- 
nity of  admiring  their  agility  and  skill  in  lime-cutting, 
tent -pegging,  and  kindred  sports.  We  afterwards  met 
them  larking  about  fraternally  with  kilted  Highlanders 
and  Goorkhas,  or  squatting  over  the  camp-fires  in  their 
company. 

Whether  the  "  sowar"  belongs  to  the  blue -coated  cav- 
alry of  the  Punjaub,  or  to  the  "  lancers,"  in  faded  blouse 
and  carelessly  wound  turban  which  have  seen  honorable 
service,  he  is  never  without  a  certain  wild  picturesque- 
ness,  which  suggests  a  not  remote  relationship  to  the 
Bedouin,  and  when  off  duty  he  falls  easily  into  the  elastic 
and  supple  attitudes  of  his  race. 

An  authority  on  military  matters  is  said  recently  to 
have  favorably  compared  a  Bengal  Lancer  regiment  with 
the  Lifeguards  and  other  bodies  of  the  finest  cavalry  in 
the  world  ;  while,  according  to  the  Times  of  India,  another 


160  KEEN  COMPETITION 

unimpeachable  judge,  who  has  had  the  best  opportunities 
of  forming  an  opinion,  pronounces  any  good  regiment  of 
Indian  cavalry  to  be  quite  equal  to  the  Cossacks  of  tlie 
Imperial  Guard. 


One  may  reach  Lahore  by  through  express  from  either 
of  the  two  great  ports  of  Avestern  India,  Bombay  and  Kur- 
rachee.  The  journey  from  Bombay,  the  most  interesting 
of  the  two  routes,  as  it  passes  through  such  cities  as  Ba- 
roda,  Ahmedabad,  Ajemere,  Jeypore,  and  Delhi,  can  be 
made  in  less  than  sixty  hours,  and  covers  1328  miles  of 
railway.  On  the  other  hand,  the  route  from  Kurrachee, 
which  is  much  shorter,  being  only  821  miles,  has  only  one 
important  city  on  the  way,  Multoon,  although  one  may 
stop,  as  the  writer  did,  at  Kotree,  and  visit  Hyderabad 
(Scinde)  across  the  Indus.  But  he  Avill  have  to  leave  his 
comfortable  divan  in  the  railway  carriage  at  2  a.m.,  and 
finish  the  nig^ht  on  a  lounge  in  the  waiting-room  of  the 

o  o  o 

station.  Let  us  suppose,  then,  that  he  adopts  the  latter 
plan,  having  arrived  by  steamer  at  Kurrachee.  His  bag- 
gage is  opened  in  the  great  iron  sheds  at  the  landing, 
where  the  examination,  although  rigid  as  a  matter  of 
form,  is  lenient  enough  except  in  the  matter  of  liquors 
and  fire-arms. 

Just  outside  the  custom-house  he  will  find  a  long  row 
of  "  gharries,"  of  the  species  known  as  landau,  each  pro- 
vided with  a  pair  of  smart  and  generally  well-conditioned 
horses.  The  red-turbaned  "gharry  wallahs,"  or  drivers, 
are  even  more  demonstrative  here  than  elsewhere,  for 
fares  are  low  and  competition  keen ;  they  will  come  to 
blows  over  his  luggage,  which  is  usually  awarded  to  the 
victor.  As  one  is  driven  along  the  straight  and  dusty 
avenue  thronged  with  bullock  carts  and  wagons  conveving 


A  GROWING  TOWN  161 

bales  of  cotton  and  other  merchandise  to  and  from  the 
docks,  he  will  realize  that  while  Kurrachee  is  a  keen  com- 
mercial rival  of  Bombay,  it  still  lacks  much  of  the  charm 
of  the  older  city.  Everything  in  the  way  of  architecture 
is  as  yet  new  and  raw ;  the  gardens,  filled  with  dense 
tropical  growth,  appear  to  have  been  recently  planted,  for 
the  cocoanut  and  other  palms  are  stunted,  and  many  trees 
lean  away  from  the  sea,  as  if  tired  of  struggling  against 
the  winds.  There  are  none  of  the  tall  and  graceful  towers 
of  foliage  which  adorn  the  coast  farther  down,  for  this  is 
the  beginning  of  the  comparatively  desert  country  of 
Scinde,  and  glimpses  of  pale  sand-hills  may  be  seen  be- 
yond the  tree-tops.  Yet  there  are  flowers  everywhere, 
and  morning-glories  twine  over  the  ornamental  iron  fences 
and  trim  hedge-rows.  There  is  a  travellers'  bungalow  near 
the  business  centre,  and  a  hotel  near  the  railway  station 
of  the  cantonment,  where  guests  are  lodged  in  various  de- 
tached and  galleried  structures  provided  with  doors  which 
will  not  shut,  as  is  usually  the  case  in  Indian  hotels ;  but 
this  is  a  feature  to  which  the  new-comer  soon  becomes  re- 
signed, and  it  cannot  always  be  said  to  imply  negligence 
on  the  part  of  the  managers,  for  the  wood  of  doors  and 
sashes  shrinks  with  eacli  dry  season,  and  swells  again 
with  the  monsoon  weather. 

After  the  silence  of  unprogressive  Persia,  there  was  a 
sense  of  companionship  in  the  snorting  of  the  iron  horse, 
and '  the  rattling  and  jolting  of  the  long  freight-trains, 
which  were  continuously  manoeuvring  a  few  rods  from  the 
back  doors  of  tliis  establishment.  The  stranger  in  India 
will  be  impressed  with  the  fact,  and  still  more  potently 
should  he  have  had  any  recent  experience  of  eastern 
Europe  and  the  Turkish  Empire,  that  this  government 
does  not  occupy  itself  in  the  least  with  the  concerns  of 

the  casual  traveller  :  whatever  his  nationality  may  be,  lie 
11 


162  FREEDOM   FROM  RESTRICTIONS 

is  free  to  come  and  go  as  he  likes ;  nothing  is  said  about 
passports,  no  printed  form  is  brought  to  him  to  be  filled 
out  with  his  age,  profession,  etc.,  and  he  is  not  followed 
by  gensdarmes  or  haunted  by  spies ;  he  is  not  obliged 
to  register  himself  at  a  police  station,  and  he  may  sketch, 
photograph,  or  do  anything  in  reason.  In  short,  there 
are  none  of  the  arbitrary  and  fussy  little  restrictions 
and  annoyances  which  are  the  rule  elsewhere.  There 
are  certain  fortresses  in  the  north,  and  even  at  Lahore, 
where  he  may  not  sketch  without  permission,  which 
could  probably  be  obtained  without  difficulty,  as  it  would 
seem  in  any  case  that  much  is  left  to  the  common- 
sense  and  discretion  of  the  officials.  Aside  from  the  fact 
that  Kurrachee  is  a  rapidly  growing  port  and  a  distribu- 
tive centre,  expected  by  its  sanguine  citizens  to  leave 
Bombay  far  behind,  there  is  little  to  interest  the  stranger 
beyond  its  winter  climate,  which  is  a  shade  cooler  than 
that  of  Bombay.  One  does  not  need  an  overcoat,  nor  a 
"  punka  "  on  the  other  hand,  and  there  is  no  chill  at  sun- 
down or  in  the  morning  air.  Away  from  the  crowded 
hive  where  the  native  population  quarters  itself,  and  which 
has  much  of  the  teeming  and  dirty  picturesqueness  of 
similar  sites  in  Bombay,  as  well  as  the  same  close  and 
musky  odors,  the  European  city,  if  wanting  in  the  archi- 
tectural magnificence  of  Bombay,  is  at  least  planned  and 
laid  out  on  the  same  generous  scale  as  regards  space. 
The  banks,  public  buildings,  and  government  offices  are 
massive,  rectangular,  arcaded  structures  of  pale  yellow 
stone,  each  standing  alone  in  a  waste  of  gravel,  or  planted, 
each  like  a  country-house,  in  its  own  grounds ;  but  there 
are  a  few  streets  where  the  shops  stand  close  together 
and  elbow  each  other  as  in  European  towns.  The  new 
"  Scinde  Club  "  may  be  taken  as  an  example  of  the  Indian 
club-house  in  general.     The  spacious  lunch-room  on  the 


A    LAHORE    STKKKT MORMNfi 


164  PRELUDES   TO    PRAYER 

first  floor  may  be  left  open  to  the  sea-breeze  or  closed  by 
glass  screens,  and  this  apartment  opens  on  a  wide  terrace. 
The  reading-room  is  as  solemnly  quiet  as  that  of  a  London 
club;  there  is  a  conservatory  or  fern -house,  sleeping- 
rooms  for  members,  and  everywhere  an  atmosphere  of 
substantial  comfort  and  luxury.  In  the  park  which  lies 
at  the  end  of  the  fashionable  drive,  there  is  a  circular  plot 
of  greensward  surrounding  a  tank  with  an  ornamental 
iron  fountain  in  the  centre ;  the  edge  of  the  water  is  de- 
fined by  a  border  of  vivid  white  send  yellow  flowers  in 
pots,  which  tell  forcibly  against  the  dusky  thickets  of  low 
cocoa-palms.  A  well-dressed  Mussulman,  standing  on  the 
turf  near  the  fountain,  had  spread  his  prayer-rug  on  the 
grass,  preparatory  to  his  evening  devotions,  conversing 
meanwhile  with  his  two  friends,  who  are  lounging  on  an 
iron  bench  across  the  gravel  w^alk.  He  then  concentrates 
his  thoughts  on  higher  things  with  the  air  of  rapt  self- 
forgetfulness  which  all  Mohammedans  command  at  such 
moments,  resuming  the  conversation  when  the  brief  func- 
tion is  over. 

The  writer's  time  in  Kurrachee  was  largeh''  taken  up 
with  preparations  for  the  trip  inland  and  w^ith  interview- 
ing English-speaking  servants,  who  came  provided  with 
written  characters  more  or  less  fraudulent,  as  any  "  mun- 
shi  "  can  write  a  first-class  recommendation  for  eight 
annas,  and  Kurrachee  is  proverbially  a  bad  place  to  start 
from  in  this  respect.  We  elected  to  start  for  Lahore  on 
the  night  after  the  troop-ship  Crocodile  had  arrived  and 
had  disgorged  her  floating  population.  There  are  two  sta- 
tions at  Kurrachee,  the  city  and  the  cantonment,  and  as 
most  of  the  new-comers  were  lodged  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  latter  station,  which  was  just  across  the  road  from 
our  hotel,  it  seemed  wiser  to  take  our  chances  at  the  city 
terminus,  particularly  as  the  railroad  superintendent  had 


I  LOSE   MY  VALET  165 

posted  a  notice  advising  that  course.  Notwithstanding 
the  confusion  and  chaos  of  steamer  trunks  and  porters,  we 
managed,  with  the  help  of  my  fellow-traveller,  who  was 
going  on  to  Simla,  to  find  an  empty  compartment,  and  by 
the  time  the  train  was  taken  by  storm  at  the  upper  sta- 
tion we  were  comfortably  extended  on  our  divans.  This 
rush  of  travel  only  lasts  for  a  day  or  two  after  the  arrival 
of  a  trooper  or  a  mail-steamer,  and  at  other  times  there  is 
plenty  of  room  in  the  first-class  sections. 

The  line  which  runs  up  to  Lahore,  communicating  with 
the  south  of  India  by  way  of  Delhi  or  Ferozapoor,  is  now 
known  as  the  Northwestern  Railway  (broad  gauge),  and 
follows  the  line  of  the  Indus  Eiver  for  the  greater  part  of 
the  way.  At  Ruk  Junction  the  military  road  runs  north- 
ward to  Quetta  and  the  frontier  of  Beloochistan,  and  at 
Musserabad  another  military  route,  following  the  Indus  to 
the  northeast,  makes  a  shorter  alternative  route  to  Pe- 
shawur  by  way  of  Rawal-Pindee. 

Hyderabad,  the  principal  town  of  Scinde,  lies  just  across 
the  Indus  from  Ivotree  station,  whicli  Ave  reached  at  2 
A.M.  Having  concluded  to  stop  over  and  visit  the  city,  I 
got  down  with  my  baggage,  expecting  to  find  Motee,  the 
newly  engaged  servant,  on  the  platform.  Not  finding  him 
among  the  sleepers  in  the  third  class,  I  made  myself  fairly 
comfortable  in  the  waiting-room  of  the  station,  trusting 
that  he  had  been  carried  on  and  would  turn  up  the  next 
day.  The  station-master,  whose  acquaintance  I  made  in 
the  morning,  very  kindly  took  me  down  to  the  landing  on 
his  "  trolley,"  or  hand-car,  and  detailed  an  employe  from 
the  freight-office  to  accompany  me  to  Hyderabad.  Along 
the  bank  of  the  river,  bordered  by  a  dense  growth  of  date- 
trees,  lay  moored  the  ''Indus  flotilla,''  a  line  of  white 
double-decked  river  steamboats.  Some  of  them  formerly 
ascended  the  river  to  Mooltan,  but  the  service  has  been  dis- 


166         •  AN  ACCOMPLISHED  MERCHANT 

continued  since  the  building  of  the  railway.  A  large 
steam  ferry-boat,  crowded  with  deck  passengers,  took  us 
across  to  the  high  sandy  bank  opposite. 

Seen  from  this  point,  the  shelving  red  bank,  dotted  with 
camels,  bullock-carts,  and  carriages,  with  venders  of  fruit 
and  sweetmeats,  the  broad  ^^ellow  flood  and  the  distant 
palm-fringed  shores,  recall  in  their  general  features  the 
environs  of  the  Nile  at  Ghizeh.  Hyderabad  itself,  only  a 
short  drive  from  the  bank,  has  but  one  main  thoroughfare, 
and  its  appearance  seems  to  indicate  a  greater  degree  of 
povert}'^  than  is  usual  in  towns  of  similar  size  and  impor- 
tance. Persia  has  stretched  a  long  arm  across  the  Indus, 
for  the  pale,  rose-tinted  mud  walls  of  the  houses,  the  tombs 
of  the  Ameers,  high -domed,  and  walled  with  porcelain, 
and  the  sloping  towers  of  the  citadel  would  all  be  in  keep- 
ing with  any  Persian  landscape.  There  are  one  or  two 
excellent  schools  for  natives  under  government  supervision, 
which  were  founded  by  Sir  Jamsetjee  Jeejeebhoy.  In  one 
of  the  little  side  alleys,  where  we  had  been  attracted  b}^ 
the  never-failing  lure  of  bric-a-brac,  and  in  an  unpreten- 
tious little  house,  we  found  a  merchant  prince  who  dealt 
in  marvels  of  needle-work.  He  was  seated,  when  we  en- 
tered, against  the  white  wall  at  the  door  of  an  inner 
chamber,  behind  a  lofty  and  most  imposing  "  hubble- 
bubble"  mounted  on  a  silver  stand,  after  the  local  fashion. 
While  his  servants  unfolded  pile  after  pile  of  embroideries 
and  curtains,  he  entertained  us  with  his  impressions  of  the 
remote  localities  which  he  had  visited,  and  talked  to  us  of 
London  and  Madrid,  of  Paris  and  Zanzibar,  and  Cape 
Town,  and  of  the  store  under  Shepherd's  Hotel,  from 
which  he  derived  much  of  his  revenue  ;  but  what  im- 
pressed us  particularly  was  a  command  of  French  and 
Spanish  rare  among  Hindoos. 

At  Kotree,  upon  returning  to  catch  the  mail-train,  Motee 


A   DREARY   LANDSCAPE  167 

reappeared  in  a  most  penitent  frame  of  mind.  His  friends 
at  Kurrachee  had  given  him  a  magnificent  "  send-off,'' 
and  at  the  moment  when  the  train  had  stopped  on  the 
previous  night  he  was  sleeping  off  the  effects  of  extensive 
hbations,  and  liad  been  carried  on  a  few  hundred  miles. 

The  compartment  which  now  fell  to  my  lot  had  a 
species  of  piazza,  where  we  could  place  a  camp-stool  and 
enjo}'  the  landscape.  At  sunrise,  after  a  chilly  night, 
we  cross  the  Indus  by  an  imposing  suspension  -  bridge ; 
the  stream  is  both  wide  and  rapid  at  this  point,  and  in 
the  middle  rises  a  rocky  island  crowned  with  a  ruined  for- 
tress, ornamented  with  panels  of  blue  faience.  A  broad 
metalled  road  winds  along  the  opposite  shore  of  the  river, 
under  a  fi'inge  of  tall  date-palms,  and  the  town  of  Roree, 
on  the  other  side,  rises  steeply  from  the  water ;  its  lofty 
balconied  houses  of  red  clay  and  the  angularity  of  its 
outline  recall  the  cholera-smitten  town  of  Yezdikhast,  on 
the  Avay  to  Shiraz.  It  is  one  of  those  places  where  one  is 
tempted  to  stop  and  look  about ;  but  to  yield  to  this  kind 
of  temptation  is  seldom  expedient  or  wise,  for  the  chances 
are  that  should  one  find  a  travellers'  bungalow,  it  would 
probably  be  at  a  distance  of  several  miles  from  the  spot 
which  attracted  him,  and  destitute  of  either  cook  or  larder. 

Beyond  Roree  we  enter  upon  far  -  stretching  plains 
floored  with  white  clay,  sprinkled  with  groups  of  dusty, 
waving  tamarisk-trees,  with  here  and  there  a  marsh  cov- 
ered with  dense  low  bushes  and  thickets  of  yellow  jungle- 
grass,  with  tall  plumes  bending  before  the  wind,  and  there 
are  occasional  mud-holes  and  pools  of  yellow  water.  All 
is  vast,  melancholy,  and  monotonous.  At  long  intervals  a 
thin  cloud  of  dust  indicates  a  distant  road  and  passing 
bullock-carts.  Everything  in  the  compartment  is  covered 
with  a  layer  of  fine  dust,  which  is  blown  u])  from  the  em- 
bankment and  sifts  throuo:h  the  window-sashes.     This  is 


168  A  LAND   OF  DESOLATION 

the  usual  character  of  the  landscape  which  borders  one  of 
the  great  rivers  like  the  Sutlej  or  Indus,  and  it  is  not 
devoid  of  a  certain  sterile  grandeur,  like  the  approach  to 
the  sea  on  some  desolate  northern  coast.  First  the  villages 
and  cultivated  fields  cease,  and  then  gomes  a  broad  tract 
of  waste  lands,  alternately  clayey  or  sandy,  dotted  with 
forlorn  and  stunted  tamarisks,  looking  as  if  they  had 
passed  much  of  their  life  under  water.  Then  there  is 
often  a  wide  extent  of  clay  and  sand  dunes,  which  has  all 
the  illusion  of  a  desert,  with  its  apparent  limitless  horizon 
and  its  mirage.  Then  all  at  once  the  ground  slopes 
abruptly  down  to  a  broad  river-bed  of  sand  or  gravel 
under  the  high  trestle-work  of  the  railway,  and  far  below 
a  few  thin  blue  channels  of  water  seem  to  lose  themselves 
in  the  glaring  waste.  What  at  first  appeared  to  be  the 
opposite  bank  dotted  with  low  bushes  proves  to  be  a  long 
island,  beyond  which  is  another  waste  of  sand  and  water. 
In  the  season  of  the  monsoon  all  this  territory  is  often 
covered  by  the  yellow  roUing  flood. 


Ill 
It  is  night  when  the  train  runs  into  the  great  fortress- 
like station  of  Lahore,  built  with  an  eye  to  possible  mili- 
tary necessities ;  the  arching  expanse  of  glass  roof,  and  the 
multitude  of  gas-jets  twinkling  dimly  in  the  smoky  gloom 
aloft,  suggest  a  somewhat  reduced  edition  of  Charing  Cross 
Station ;  this  chance  impression  is  strengthened  by  the 
brilliantly  lighted  news-stand  and  book-stall  of  Wheeler  & 
Co.,  well  furnished  with  light  literature,  from  the  period  of 
Ainsworth  to  the  fatalistic  Tolstoi',  and  by  the  "  nickel-in- 
the-slot "  machines.  But  there  is  a  note  of  piquant  con- 
trast in  the  three  tall  Indian  falconers,  with  great  buzzard- 
like hawks,  nearly  as  large  as  eagles,  which  strugglingly 


CABS  AND   CASTE  169 

balance  themselves  on  the  shoulders  or  turbans  of  their 
masters,  who  stand  on  the  platform  environed  by  porten- 
tous piles  of  bedding,  and  hunt  in  their  clothing  for  "pice" 
to  pay  the  luggage  coolies.  A  few  Europeans  are  pacing 
the  platform  in  heavy  ulsters.  Upon  the  steps  of  the 
bridge  which  crosses  the  tracks  to  the  other  side  of  the 
station  a  party  of  "  Rewari "  ladies,  with  plump  brown 
arms  incased  in  rings  of  glittering  metal,  with  swinging 
skirts  and  heavy  anklets,  richl}'  costumed  and  pungently 
perfumed,  are  stooping  down,  intent  upon  scraping  up  a 
mess  of  some  brown,  greasy  edible  which  they  had  spilt 
upon  the  steps.  A  railway  official  in  uniform  is  convers- 
ing with  the  mob  of  third-class  native  passengers  carrying 
strange  packets  of  every  conceivable  shape  ;  they  are  con- 
fined like  prisoners  behind  the  cross  -  bars  of  a  strong 
wooden  grating,  and  presently,  when  the  train  is  ready 
the  oflBcial  turnkey  will  let  them  loose.  So  intermingled 
are  Europe  and  Asia  that  it  is  not  easy  to  determine 
which  is  the  discordant  note — this  underground  railway 
British  book-stall,  and  the  sign  of  '*  Bass's  Ale,"  or  the 
hooded  hawks  and  the  brown  ladies  with  the  tinkling 
anklets.  Outside  the  station  carriages  are  numerous,  and 
you  may  go  to  your  hotel  shiveringly  in  an  open  barouche 
labelled  "  first  class,"  or  get  into  a  shigram,  which  closes 
like  a  coupe,  but  is  labelled  '•  second  class,"  avoid  the  risk 
of  a  chill,  and  court  the  risk  of  being  turned  away  from 
the  hotel "  for  want  of  room,"  as  every  hostelry  is  crowded 
at  Christmas-time. 

There  is  no  lack  of  hotels  at  Lahore,  considering  the 
sraallness  of  the  transient  population,  and,  as  usual,  they 
are  all  situated  in  the  civil  station,  as  the  European  set- 
tlement is  called.  These  hotels  offer  no  points  of  differ- 
ence in  their  outward  appearance,  save  their  conspicuous 
signs,  from  the  bungalows  of  private  citizens,  which  are 


170 


SHADED  ROADS 


planted  at  intervals  along  the  broad  avenues.  As  the 
European  suburb  is  unusually  large,  these  highways, 
shaded  by  tall  trees  of  the  tamarisk  family,  have  a  rather 
wearisome  sameness,  and  this  impression  of  monotony  is 
partly  due  to  the  sombre  hues  of  the  foliage.  Journey- 
ing along  in  a  shigram,  at  some  distance  from  the  outer 
walls  of  the  Indian  city,  towards  the  quarter  called  Anar- 
kali,  Ave  follow  a  road  bordered  by  tall  banana-trees.  In 
the  early  morning  the  ground  is  white  with  hoar-frost, 
and  most  of  the  huge  leaves  which  arch  over  us  are 
brown  and  shrivelled ;  the  dull  red  rays  of  the  rising  sun 


AN    OPEN-AIR    RESTAURANT,   LAHORE 


ORIENTAL  SHOP-KEEPERS  l7l 

slant  through  the  mist  or  silvery-gray  vapor  which  lies 
along  the  ground.  The  sight  of  this  tropical  but  frost- 
bitten luxuriance  does  not  seem  quite  in  accord  with  one's 
preconceived  notions  of  a  climate  where  there  are  at  least 
eight  months  of  hot  weather,  where  the  season  of  burn- 
ing winds  and  wet  "  tatty  mats  "  begins  in  March,  pre- 
ceded only  by  few  dull  and  languorous  days  which 
follow  the  ci^ssation  of  frost.  These  rose-tinted  rays  of 
light,  the  silvery  mist  behind  the  fresh  green  or  dull  gray 
of  the  leaves,  have  a  strange  charm,  but  there  is  a  sugges- 
tion of  malaria  in  the  damp,  raw  chill,  largely  due  to  the 
plentiful  irrigation,  which  turns  every  field  or  garden- 
patch  into  a  stagnant  pool.  While  the  English  commu- 
nity of  Lahore,  as  elsewhere  in  India,  has  elected  to  live 
away  from  the  native  city,  and  while  the  original  nucleus 
of  this  settlement  was  planted,  for  sanitary  and  other  rea- 
sons, far  from  the  city  walls,  it  has  gradually  filled  up  the 
intervening  space,  so  that  the  usual  neutral  ground,  or  no 
man's  land,  has  ceased  to  exist.  In  the  crowded  suburb 
of  Anarkali,  which  we  must  traverse  in  order  to  reach  the 
post-office,  the  bazaars  extend  out  from  the  cit}^  gate  to 
the  European  civil  lines.  This  quarter,  where  the  archi- 
tecture is  chiefly  Indian,  with  that  yellow  and  stuccoed 
suefirestion  of  Portuguese  influence  which  still  survives,  is 
given  over  for  the  most  part  to  "  Europe  Shops,"  kept  by 
English-speaking  natives,  Eurasians,  and  occasional  Par- 
sees.  These  shopkeepers  are  mainly  clad  in  what  might 
be  called  an  adaptation  of  the  European  dress  to  Indian 
needs,  and  in  their  shops  and  warehouses  everything  in  the 
way  of  clothing,  household  articles,  jewelry,  furniture — 
new  and  second-hand — as  well  as  provisions,  wines,  and 
other  luxuries,  can  be  purchased  usually  at  rates  as  cheap 
as  in  England,  for  there  is  close  competition.  As  the 
government  has  not  yet  resorted  to  a  tobacco  monopoly 


172  DRUGS  AND  MEDICINES 

(which  is  a  dangerous  experiment  in  Eastern  countries), 
almost  every  variety  of  tobacco  and  cigarettes  may  be 
found  in  the  show-cases  of  these  shops — Vanity  Fair,  Old 
Judge,  as  well  as  Egyptian,  and  the  Kaiser  and  Hind  cig- 
arettes of  Malta.  The  cheapest,  and  naturally  most  popu- 
lar, cigars  are  the  Trinchinopoly  and  Manila  cheroots, 
which  are  good  and  remarkably  low  in  price.  In  every 
little  "  medical  hall "  kept  by  an  anglicized  native  there 
is  always  a  stock  of  the  standard  remedies,  such  as  qui- 
nine, phenacitine,  and  antipyrine,  put  up  in  convenient 
shape,  and  often  these  packages  bear  the  label  of  some 
well-known  American  firm.  Fortunately  for  the  health 
of  a  community  which  supposes  itself  to  be  possessed  of 
common-sense,  the  sale  of  these  simple  remedies  is  not,  as 
in  Austria  and  some  other  Continental  nations,  restricted 
by  law,  and  a  physician's  order  is  not  necessary  for  the 
purchase  of  a  box  of  quinine  pills. 

A  significant  feature,  not  only  of  Lahore,  but  of  every 
other  large  community  in  India,  is  the  abundance  of  sec- 
ond-hand shops  crammed  with  furniture  of  every  descrip- 
tion, smart  and  new  or  broken  down  and  decrepit,  which 
naturally  results  from  the  periodical  migrations  to  which 
people  connected  with  the  civil  or  military  service  are  fre- 
quently subjected.  As  the}'^  are  liable  to  be  sent  at  brief 
notice  to  the  remotest  parts  of  the  great  empire,  it  is  sel- 
dom worth  while  to  transport  all  their  household  effects 
with  them,  at  great  expense,  over  thousands  of  miles  of 
railway  or  by  camel  and  bullock  trains.  Few  English 
names  appear  on  the  signs  in  this  suburb,  but  "  Cheap 
Jack"  and  "Cheap  Shop"  are  considered  by  the  native 
merchant  to  be  of  lucky  omen,  and  "  Europe  Shop  "  still 
holds  its  own  in  popularity.  "  Budruddin  Hassan  "  suggests 
by  association  of  ideas  the  trade  of  the  pastry-cook,  and 
in  front  of  one  shop,  of  which  the  exact  location  is  not 


CARVED    BALCONIES 


now  quite  clear  to  the  writer's  memory,  there  is  a  piece 
of  very  delightful  English  which  reads  thus :  "  All  kinds 
of  Syrup,  Jelly,  Pickles,  and  Medicine  Selling  Company." 
Over  these  shops  and  lower  stories  there  are  often  balco- 
nies of  carved  wood,  such  as  one  sees  within  the  walls, 
and  they  are  usually  occupied  by  young  ladies  of  the 
nautch -dancing  sisterhood,  who  are  keenl}^  alive  to  the 
value  of  a  scarlet  or  a  yellow  blossom  in  their  blue-black 
hair,  but  unfortunately  some  of  them  do  not  realize  that 
the  effect  of  rice-powder  on  a  transparent  brown  skin  is 
rather  disastrous.  The  principal  street  from  the  city 
gate,  where  great  trees  and  dust}^  thickets  occupy  the 
space  once  filled  by  the  moat,  and  where  there  is  a  crowd 
of  small  traders,  snake-charmers,  fakirs,  and  showmen 
with  tents  and  booths  throughout  its  entire  length  to  the 
opposite  end,  where  it  merges  into  the  European  quarter, 


174  GOVERNMENT  BUILDINGS 

gives  one  the  iinpression  of  a  sort  of  Oriental  Bowery. 
Beyond  this  there  is  more  space  and  greensward  en- 
closed by  low  rails,  and  the  principal  post-office,  with 
empty  mail -vans  standing  outside.  Every  morning,  be- 
fore the  early  mail  is  distributed  to  the  public,  a  trooper 
in  scarlet  uniform  gallops  from  the  post-office  to  Gov- 
ernment House  with  the  mail-bag  for  the  inmates.  In 
this  vicinity  are  situated  most  of  the  principal  municipal 
and  government  buildings,  the  Mayo  School  of  Arts  in 
connection  with  the  Art  Museum — and  few  similar  insti- 
tutions in  any  country  can  boast  of  a  finer  installation,  or 
one  more  in  keeping  with  its  main  object,  the  encourage- 
ment of  Indian  industrial  art.  Here  are  the  churches — 
one  of  which  was  once  the  tomb  Anarkali,  a  favorite  of 
the  Emperor  Akbar ;  and  the  cathedral,  which  is  Gothic, 
lilvC  many  similar  edifices  in  India,  is  quite  as  much  at 
home  in  its  environment  as  are  the  Greek  temples  of  Lon- 
don. The  tomb  intended  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of 
Anarkali  is  not  the  only  instance  in  Lahore  of  that  thrifty 
disposition  of  the  modern  Romans  to  utilize  these  monu- 
ments of  a  more  poetic  age.  Upon  one  occasion  when  in 
quest  of  information  I  was  directed  to  the  office  of  the 
railway  superintendent,  and  found  him  installed  in  the 
tomb  of  some  worthy  of  Persian  ancestry,  to  judge  from 
the  noble  arch  incrusted  with  tiles  which  rose  above  the 
recess  in  which  his  employes  were  at  work ;  and  there  are 
several  other  examples  of  equally  successful  adaptations. 

The  principal  English  shops  and  Avarehouses  are  not 
often  situated  in  buildings  constructed  especially  for  com- 
mercial purposes,  but  in  the  ordinary  domestic  bunga- 
lows standing  alone  in  neglected  compounds ;  and  as  the 
bulkier  articles,  such  as  trunks,  perambulators,  or  household 
furniture,  are  kept  outside  on  the  verandas,  one  might 
fancy  that  these  temples  of  commerce  were  all  dwelling- 


FLOWERS   AND   FURS  175 

houses,  and  that  the  inmates  were  forever  on  the  point  of 
moving  out  or  of  just  getting  settled. 

Government  House,  the  seat  of  the  Lieutenant-Govern- 
or of  the  Punjaub,  stands  in  attractive  grounds  near  the 
fine  park  known  as  the  Lawrence  Gardens,  on  the  out- 
skirts of  the  civil  station.  The  flower-beds  and  parterres 
which  adorn  the  public  and  private  grounds  in  this  neigh- 
borhood are  more  luxuriant  and  varied  than  the  winter 
gardens  of  the  Riviera.  In  the  early  morning,  as  well  as 
at  night,  they  are  much  frequented  by  jackals,  which  show 
their  appreciation  of  them  by  trotting  about  in  couples 
through  the  shrubbery.  An  open-air  fete  had  been  held 
in  one  of  these  gardens  in  the  afternoon,  and  when  the 
last  guests  had  departed,  many  of  them  in  furs  and  ulsters, 
and  while  we  were  standing  before  the  chimney  lire  with- 
in, the  conversation  was  interrupted  by  the  howls  of  a 
band  of  these  nocturnal  ramblers  just  outside  the  doors. 


IV 

A  tramway  line,  which  passes  the  railway  station  and 
the  rows  of  little  tenements  built  for  the  employes,  runs 
on  through  a  long  street  where  the  '•  cheap  eating-house  " 
flourishes,  and  between  the  shops  of  artisans,  dj^ers,  and 
tinkers,  ending  at  the  city  gate.  This  edifice,  one  of  those 
stuccoed  sulphur-tinted  monuments  of  the  Georgian  order 
which  at  one  time  were  sown  broadcast  over  the  length 
and  breadth  of  India,  gives  access  to  a  narrow  winding 
street,  flanked  by  tall  houses.  A  great  deal  of  business 
and  gossip  is  going  on  at  all  hours  in  this  street,  and  the 
little  shops  are  of  that  universal  type  which  prevails  in 
all  Moslem  countries,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Great  "Wall 
of  China,  and  which  existed  in  all  probability  in  Pompeii 
as  in  modern  Venice.     From  a  cavernous  arch  at  the  end 


MINARET    OF    THE    MOSQUE   VAZIR    KHAN 


we  emerge  into  the  square  facing  the  mosque  of  Vazir 
Khan ;  like  the  great  place  at  Ispahan,  it  contains  little 
to  remind  one  of  Europe,  and  the  transition  from  the  trim 
avenue,  the  horse-cars,  and  the  red  pillar  post-boxes  at 
intervals  is  strangely  abrupt.  The  mosque  is  almost  purely 
Persian,  but  for  the  two  jutting  windows  on  each  side  of 
the  tall  and  deep  recess  above  the  entrance.     The  entire 


PRIVILEGED  SQUATTERS  177 

front  of  the  gateway  is  a  brilliant  mosaic  of  the  kind 
known  as  "  kashi-work,"  and  the  four  massive  towers,  as 
well  as  the  fa9ade  of  the  inner  court,  repeat  the  same 
scheme  of  blue  and  yellow  and  faded  green.  Age  has 
but  mellowed  the  tone  of  the  whole  edifice,  and  the  great 
Persian  letters  of  the  inscription  over  the  main  entrance 
are  still  resplendent  in  vivid  turquoise  blue.*  The  fres- 
coed walls  within  the  niche,  of  which  the  ornamentation 
above  is  less  deeply  indented  than  in  the  Persian  ex- 
amples of  similar  work,  have  taken  on  a  rich  bituminous 
and  smoky  tone  like  an  old  painting ;  and  the  dado  above 
the  square  platform  on  each  side  of  the  steps,  which  is  of 
marble,  once  white,  threaded  with  slender  black  lines 
forming  interlaced  stars  and  hexagons,  has  been  toned  by 
age  and  the  contact  of  many  garments  to  a  golden  brown. 
The  venerable  Mussulmans  privileged  to  pass  their  lives 
on  the  steps  and  the  lounging-place  on  either  side  may 
be  seen  there  at  any  time  of  the  day,  and  after  an  absence 
of  several  years  I  recognized  the  same  faces  among  them. 
They  constitute  a  species  of  club,  or  rather  an  Oriental 
''  Cercle  des  Decaves,"  and  are  seemingly  content  to  sit 
and  see  the  world  go  b}'^  without  taking  a  very  active 
part  in  its  endless  movement.  When  not  asleep  or  other- 
wise employed  they  apj)ear  to  be  absorbed  in  vague 
speculations  upon  the  infinite,  but,  like  their  European 
imitators,  are  doubtless  dreaming  of  mere  material  things. 
It  is  their  custom  to  begin  the  day  with  a  sort  of  dress 
])arade — a  minute  investigation  of  their  tattered  raiment. 
Having  completed  their  inspection,  they  ])roceed  to  select 
a  sunny  exposure  if  in  winter,  or  when  the  hot  winds 
blow    thev  retreat   into   the   dim   brick-vaulted  corridor 


*  "Keraovc  tli}'  heart  from  the  giiideiis  of  tlie  world,  ami  know  that 
this  building  is  the  true  abode  of  man." 
12 


178 


CHESTERFIELDIAN   BEGGARS 


provided  for  their  comfort  by  the  munificence  of  an  im- 
perial Vizir,*  and  proceed  to  do  nothing.  A  few  of  the 
elect,  whose  heads  are  well  thatched  with  a  shock  of  black 
hair,  and  with  faces  tanned  to  the  color  of  burnt  sienna, 


tailor's    apprentice,  LAHORE 

have  literally  gone  to  the  dogs,  and  grovel  in  the  dust 
at  some  distance  from  the  steps  among  the  canine  fre- 
quenters of  the  sacred  spot ;  their  unique  garment  being 
of  the  same  color  as  the  ground,  they  are  scarcely  dis- 
tinguishable from  it.  If  they  are  professional  mendi- 
cants, as  they  seem  to  be,  they  pursue  their  calling  in  a 
gentle  and  unobtrusive  manner,  and  without  the  aggres- 
sive energy  displayed  by  their  brethren  of  IS^aples. 

There  is,  in  truth,  a  good  deal  of  life  and  movement  to 
be  seen  from  the  crumbling  steps  of  Vazir  Khan  ;  there 


*  Built  ill  1634  by  the  Vizir  of  Shall  Jehun. 


STREET  SCENES 


179 


are  two  domed  edifices  which  ma}'^  have  once  been  tombs 
or  fountains,  but  which  now  shelter  various  trades  beneath 
the  rude  thatched  awnings  projecting  from  their  eaves. 
Tailors  and  tailors'  apprentices  stitch  all  day  at  piles  (jf 
dilapidated  garments  in  their  shadow,  and  cobblers  busy 
themselves  with  heaps  of  dusty  old  shoes,  and  in  the 
middle  of  the  square  there  are  open  -  air  restaurants, 
where  great  kettles  of  tinned  copper  stand  upon  plat- 
forms elevated  above  the  ground  and  surrounded  by 
rough  benches;  sooty  frying-pans  sizzle  on  little  clay 
furnaces,  and  the  keepers  of  these  restaurants  sit  en- 
throned among  their  cooking  utensils  and  diligently  fight 
the  swarms  of  flies  with  long -handled  brushes.     In  the 


TAILOR    SHOP,  LAHORE 


middle  of  the  day  the  benches  are  crowded  with  custom- 
ers, who  have  the  appearance  of  being  peasants  from  tlie 
outlying  country,  or  Pathan  peddlers ;  and  most  of  them 
being  voluminously  swathed  in  white,  they  look  not  a 


180  PAGAN   TOLERANCE 

little  like  the  patrons  of  similar  places  in  Morocco.  A 
great  deal  of  horse-shoeing  and  veterinary  practice  is  car- 
ried on  in  one  corner,  under  a  great  tree,  and  there  is  al- 
ways a  sound  of  hammering  and  clashing  of  metal  from 
the  smoky  arches  behind.  Occasionally  two  men  drag  up 
a  struggling  ram  to  the  corner  steps  of  the  mosque ;  hav- 
ing seated  themselves,  they  proceed  to  divest  him  of  his 
fleece,  and  after  finishing  their  work  confide  their  own 
heads  to  the  barber,  who  plies  the  shears  under  a  straw 
awning  close  by.  The  great  open  court  of  the  mosque  is 
seldom  thronged  except  at  noon  ;  a  few  school-boys  con 
their  books  under  the  eye  of  a  master  in  one  corner,  and 
an  occasional  beggar  strolls  in,  and  stretches  himself  out 
to  sleep  on  the  pavement  among  the  pigeons.  To  those 
who  have  been  reared  in  other  lands,  in  the  fear  of  the 
stern  sacristan  and  the  autocratic  Suisse,  there  is  some- 
thing broadly  democratic  in  the  faith  of  Islam  as  it  is 
practised  to-day.  While  in  most  countries  still  under  Mus- 
sulman dominion  the  unbeliever  is  rigidly  excluded  from 
the  mosque,*  the  humblest  of  the  faithful  may  find  there 
a  refuge  from  the  weather,  sleep  in  the  protecting  shadow 
of  its  cloisters,  and  bathe  in  the  water  of  the  tank.  With- 
out descending  again  into  the  square,  we  may  pass  through 
the  long  corridor  and  down  the  little  steps  at  the  end,  and 
we  are  in  the  gayest  street  of  Lahore  ;  in  its  display  of 
carved  and  Aveather-beaten  wood-work,  of  balconies  and 
jutting  windows,  each  house  exhibiting  the  individual  taste 
and  fancy  of  its  designer,  it  is  probably  unequalled  in  any 
city  of  the  East.  The  dark  brick  wall  of  the  mosque,  re- 
lieved by  brilliant  panels  of  unglazed  tiles,  and  pierced  by 
a  window  here  and  there,  shadows  for  some  distance  the 

*  Tlie  stranger  is  made  welcome  to-day  in  any  of  the  mosques  of  In- 
dia, and  there  are  but  few  wliere  lie  is  even  expected  to  don  the  tradi- 
tional slippers. 


CARVINGS  AND  COLOR  181 

street,  which  expands  beyond  into  a  httle  square,  Httered 
in  the  afternoon  with  the  baskets  of  small  hucksters,  and 
the  sunny  wall  of  the  house  which  rises  across  the  way  is  a 
thing  to  study  and  to  enjoy.  Its  oriel-windows  are  delight- 
fully irregular  in  size  and  shape,  and  the  intervening  spaces, 
from  the  eaves  down  to  the  ragged  little  shop  roofs  and 
tattered  awnings,  once  gaudily  painted  with  intermingled 
combinations  of  arabesque  designs,  gods,  and  animals,  have 
been  toned  to  a  mellow  golden  hue  by  the  sun  ;  dilapi- 
dated cane  mats  hang  at  some  of  the  windows,  and  the 
shadow  of  a  great  tree  flickers  on  the  wall  in  the  afternoon. 
A  few  steps  farther  on  and  the  wealth  of  old  wood- 
work becomes  fairly  prodigal ;  the  side  streets,  as  well  as 
this  main  artery,  give  one  the  impression  that  each  house- 
holder has  vied  to  outdo  his  neighbor  in  throwincr  out 
these  crowded  ranks  of  beautiful  windows,  and  in  cover- 
ing every  inch  of  wall  with  decoration  and  with  color. 
Where  the  windows  do  not  project  the}^  are  made  inter- 
esting by  complicated  stucco  mouldings,  by  panels  of 
painted  flowers,  by  courses  of  glazed  red  and  blue  bricks, 
and  they  usually  open  upon  a  long  wooden  balcony,  high 
enough  for  one  to  sit  and  look  down  through  the  inter- 
stices of  the  wooden  gratings.  Even  the  under  sides  over- 
hanging the  street,  and  the  brackets,  are  richly  painted, 
and  often  mirrors  are  inserted  in  the  centres  of  elaborate 
rosettes.  Peacocks  of  tinted  stucco  perch  on  the  white 
domes  of  the  windows,  and  peacocks  of  painted  wood, 
twisted  into  the  shape  of  brackets,  uphold  the  rows  (jf 
great  square  "  raoussarabies.''  At  one  end  of  this  mar- 
vellous street  there  is  a  perspective  of  golden  domes,  and 
at  the  other  end  tower  the  lofty  minars  of  Vazir  Khan. 
Beyond  the  group  of  gilded  domes,  antl  near  the  extreme 
end  of  the  street,  there  is  a  house  front  most  lavishly 
decorated  by  the  painters'  brush.     A  corner  of  the  largest 


182 


A    PROFESSIONAL    BEAUTY 


window  was  tenanted  by  a  young  lady,  doubtless  a  profes- 
sional beauty  in  her  world,  for  she  certainly  had  the  calm 
assurance  of  bearing  characteristic  of  the  order.  At  cer- 
tain hours  of  the  day  she  held  a  little  salon  or  conversd- 
sione,  languidly  keeping  her  place  in  the  corner,  while  the 
turbaned  heads  of  her  guests  could  be  seen  leaning  back 
against  the  window-sill  on  the  other  side.  A  companion 
usually  joined  her,  and  sometimes  they  would  both  trip 


DTKR  S    SHOP 


swiftly  down  the  steep  stairway  to  the  street,  and  after 
exchanging  confidential  remarks  with  their  friends  the 
shopkeepers  across  the  way,  which  left  them  in  a  state  of 
choking  and  inarticulate  mirth,  they  would  climb  into  one 
of  the  crazy  one-horse  vehicles  known  to  the  Anglo-In- 
dians as  the  "jingling  Jimmies,"  and  drive  hurriedly  off. 
On  these  occasions  they  appeared  in  elaborate  street  cos- 
tumes, with  transparent  shawls  of  delicate  tissue  worn 


FADED   SPLENDOR  183 

loosely  over  the  long  silken  tunic,  microscopically  em- 
broidered, and  the  ankle -tight  silk  trousers,  wliich  here 
replace  the  swinging  skirts  of  Rajpootana.  The  Jumma 
Musjid,  or  Great  Mosque,  rises  beyond  an  open  desert 
space  near  the  end  of  this  street.  Its  four  tall  minars 
of  red  stone  are  its  most  striking  feature,  and  near  by  is 
the  imposing  domed  mausoleum  of  Ranjeet  Singh,  and  the 
entrance  of  the  great  fortress  enclosing  the  royal  palaces. 
Parts  of  them  were  built  during  the  rei^rns  of  Akbar  and 
Jehanghir,  and  other  portions  completed  b}^  Shah  Jehan 
and  Aurungzebe.  High  up  on  the  red  fortress  walls 
above  the  moat  there  are  square  panels  of  brilliant  tile- 
work,  with  yellow  elephants,  horsemen,  and  figures  of 
warriors  and  gods  on  a  blue  ground.  There  are  beauti- 
ful things  within  the  walls,  as  in  the  deserted  palaces  of 
Agra  and  Delhi,  marble  preciously  inlaid  with  flowers  of 
colored  stones,  and  in  the  "  Shish  Mahall "  the  glittering 
Persian  mirror-work. 

But  chapters  might  be  devoted  to  description  which, 
after  all,  would  convey  to  the  reader's  mind  but  an  inade- 
quate idea  of  this  decayed  splendor.  One  would  have  to 
go  very  carefully  over  the  ground  to  form  the  vaguest 
conception  of  how  the  place  once  looked,  as  it  is  so  encum- 
bered with  barracks,  magazines,  and  "  public  works " 
buildings,  and  in  the  innermost  retreats,  once  sacred  to  the 
emperors,  the  red-coated  British  private  now  smokes  his 
pipe  when  not  on  duty.  The  old  gardens  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Lahore,  such  as  "  Shalimar,"  where  ancient  mango- 
trees  are  still  green  and  vigorous,  where  the  marble  ter- 
races are  weather-worn  and  broken,  the  canals  choked 
with  weeds,  and  where  only  a  few  mouldering  gateways 
still  retain  patches  of  lustrous  "  kashi  -  work.''  have  a 
charm  which  they  may  have  lacked  when  freshlv  laid  out 
in  the  days  of  Shah  Jehan. 


184 


A  RESTFUL  LANDSCAPE 


Perhaps  the  most  impressive  of  all  is  that  which  sur- 
rounds the  grand  mausoleum  at  Shah  Darrah,  beyond  the 
river  Kavi.  There  are  alleys  of  wild  palms,  orange  and 
mango  trees,  and  forgotten  corners  near  tlie  broken  walls 
where  tall  yellow  canes  have  sprung  up.  It  would  be  im- 
possible to  forget  the  first  impression  of  the  lonely  mauso- 
leum, the  vast  extent  of  tessellated  pavement,  overgrown 
with  dry  grass,  and  the  four  lofty  minars  at  the  corners  ; 
from  the  high  level  of  the  terrace  the  landscape,  which 
stretches  away  on  every  side,  is  empty  and  objectless,  but 
bathed  in  the  tranquil  afternoon  light  it  gives  one  the  illu- 
sion of  eternal  summer.  In  the  short  winter  the  sunny 
days  are  full  of  glow  and  color ;  as  few  of  the  trees  lose 
their  leaves,  there  is  but  little  to  suggest  decay,  and  the 
charm  of  this  and  of  other  gems  of  Indian  landscape  is 
free  from  that  somewhat  depressing  quality  known  as  sen- 
timent in  painted  interpretations  of  nature. 


COURT    OK    THK    MOSCJUK.    VAZIK    KUAN 


A  POLEMICAL  BATTLE-GROUND  185 


V 

It  is  seldom  that  two  cities  of  almost  equal  size  and  im- 
portance, such  as  Lahore  and  Amritsar,*  are  placed  so  near 
together,  for  the  distance  between  them  is  but  thirty 
miles.  Amritsar,  being  the  cathedral  city  of  the  Sikhs,  is 
in  its  way  a  great  religious  centre,  as  well  as  an  important 
commercial  entrepot.  It  is  a  "city  of  polemics,''  and  is 
often  chosen  as  a  tilting  -  ground  where  wordy  tourna- 
ments take  place  between  the  professors  of  diverse  creeds, 
where  those  who  have  gathered  to  discuss  in  a  spirit  of 
calm  and  temperate  investigation  the  merits  of  each  re- 
spective faith  often  end  in  fierce  controversy.  Of  late 
Christians  and  Moslems  have  beeu  hurling  defiance  at 
each  other,  and  as  a  sequel  to  one  of  these  philosophical 
debates,  the  jVIussulman  controversialist  ended  by  work- 
ing himself  into  a  frenzy,  and  threatening  his  opponent 
witli  dire  and  endless  punishment.  Amritsar  seems  to 
have  more  of  the  bustle  and  roar  of  commerce  than  La- 
hore. The  narrow  streets,  darkened  by  tall  brick  houses, 
made  picturesque  with  ornate  windows  like  those  of  La- 
hore, are  crowded  with  heavily  laden  bullock -carts  and 
buffalo  "  teams,''  blocked  with  long  camel  trains,  jammed 
with  droves  of  donkeys,  and  among  the  hurrying  crowds 
one  discerns  a  new  element  in  the  tall,  gaunt  men  with 
Mongolian  faces,  wrapped  in  long  wadded  gowns,  and 
wearing  fur  caps  and  high  boots.  They  abound  in  certain 
''  serais,"  f  where  they  may  be  seen  at  prayer  on  the 
broad  platform  in  the  middle  of  the  courts,  as  in  tlie  cara- 
vansaries of  Ispahan,  or  wandering  about  in  the  bazaars 
with  dazed  and  distracted  mien,  as  if  stunned  by  the  din 


*The  population  of  Lahore  at  present  is  176.8.")4:  Amritsar.  136.7fi(}. 
+  Caravausiiries. 


186  THE  LAKE  OF  IMMORTALITY 

of  the  citj.  They  are  evidently  of  a  different  breed  from 
the  stout,  squat  Mongolians  from  the  hills  one  meets  in 
other  northern  towns,  and  have  probably  come  from  Toor- 
kistan ;  one  connects  them  instinctively  with  Central  Asia, 
because  of  their  samovars  and  loose-sleeved  wadded  kaf- 
tans. 

At  the  end  of  a  narrow  and  crowded  lane  one  comes 
suddenly  upon  an  open  space,  and  from  the  railing  at 
its  edge  lies  the  far-famed  Lake  of  Immortality,  en- 
closed by  palace  walls  and  screened  by  verdure,  with  the 
"  Golden  Temple "  rising  from  an  island  in  the  middle. 
But  before  descending  the  steps  the  profane  visitor  must 
halt  at  the  police  station,  and  select  a  pair  of  slippers  from 
the  pile  provided  for  the  use  of  strangers.  The  uniformed 
Sikh  policeman  who  is  detailed  to  accompany  each  visitor 
first  points  out  a  large  sign  with  parallel  columns  in 
many  languages,  enumerating  at  length  the  things  which 
one  may  not  do  on  hallowed  ground.  The  sanctity  of  the 
place  could  not  have  been  more  jealously  guarded  when 
the  Sikhs  were  the  ruling  power.  From  the  border  of  the 
tank,  which  lies  in  the  afternoon  shadow,  the  Golden  Tem- 
ple gives  one  the  impression  of  a  glittering  jewel,  or  of 
some  rare  old  Byzantine  casket  wrought  in  enamel  and 
studded  with  gems.  Small  and  compact,  glowing  with 
color  and  scintillating  with  light,  its  mirrored  image  reach- 
ing far  down  into  the  purple  depths  of  reflected  sky,  it  has 
at  first  sight  a  glamour  of  unreality,  like  an  opium  vision 
of  De  Quincey,  or  the  "  pleasure  dome  of  Kubla  Khan." 
Two  colors  predominate,  the  gold  of  the  upper  part  and 
the  clustered  domes,  and  the  white  marble  of  its  base, 
toned  and  softened  by  the  faint  color  of  its  inlaid  flowers ; 
the  curtained  doors  and  windows  add  flashes  of  scarlet. 
In  its  environment  of  deep  -  toned  dusky  purple  sky  and 
water  it  has  the  intensity  of  a  luminous  point  or  focus  of 


STKPS    OK    THK    MOSQUE    VAZIR    KHAN 


188  THE  LAKE  OF   IMMORTALITY 

light,  and  the  dark  masses  of  foliage  behind  are  of  great 
value  in  the  landscape. 

An  advanced  state  of  aesthetic  culture  may,  it  might 
be  admitted,  prove  a  drawback  to  complete  and  unrea- 
soning enjoyment  of  this  and  of  similar  things  in  India, 
particularly  if  one  is  biassed  and  hampered  by  precon- 
ceived notions  of  what  is  correct  according  to  the  canons 
of  conventional  good  taste  in  matters  of  classical,  or  of 
Renaissance,  or  Gothic,  art. 

The  lake  is  surrounded  by  a  tessellated  marble  pave- 
ment, varied  in  pattern,  and  shut  in  from  the  noise  of  the 
city  by  white  palace  walls,  with  balconies  and  window- 
seats  overlooking  the  water,  and  by  great  trees.  On  one 
side  there  is  a  wilderness  of  dark  foliage  belonging  to 
distant  gardens;  among  the  trees  are  a  few  gleaming 
kiosks  and  domes,  and  rising  above  them  are  three  tall 
towers,  the  more  distant  of  which  is  of  massive  form, 
and  decorated  with  panels  of  tiles  and  mosaic.  Along 
the  inlaid  pavement  of  the  margin  groups  of  priests, 
worshippers,  and  fakirs  of  an  order  peculiar  to  the  Sikh 
religion  are  slowly  pacing,  and  discoursing,  let  us  hope, 
of  higher  things,  and  not  of  the  "  pice  "  which  they  have 
extracted  from  their  confiding  followers.  Sometimes  we 
come  upon  a  priest  or  pundit  seated  under  a  tree  or  on 
a  little  marble  seat  at  the  water's  edge  and  deeply  ab- 
sorbed in  a  ponderous  book.  Near  the  foot  of  the  steps 
by  which  we  descend  there  is  usually  a  school  -  master 
seated  on  the  pavement,  surrounded  by  a  circle  of  small 
students.  A  few  artisans  who  manufacture  wooden 
spoons,  combs,  and  other  souvenirs  of  the  shrine  are  al- 
lowed to  ply  their  trades  in  shady  corners  around  the  tank, 
and  the  great  baskets  of  the  flower- sellers  heaped  high 
with  roses  and  other  flowers,  among  which  great  masses 
of  odorous  yellow  jasmine  predominate,  add  a  note  of 


KNTRASCE-GATE    TO    THE    GOLDEN    TEMPLE 
OK   AMRITSAR 


yellow  and  orange, 
recalling  the  color  of 
the  temple.  These  mer- 
chants are  for  the  most 
part  busily  engaged  in 
weaving  long  chains  of 
the  fragrant  yellow 
blossoms,  which  are  bought  by  the  pilgrims  as  offerings. 

In  order  to  reach  the  island  sanctuary  one  must  pass 
through  a  portal  which  is  in  itself  a  palace,  covered,  like 
the  temple,  with  plates  of  embossed  and  gilded  coi)per, 
with  inlaid  marble  and  painted  panels,  and  through  great 
doors  of  silver  which  give  access  to  the  causeway  lead- 
ing to  the  temple.  Here  everything  is  of  polished  white 
marble  —  the  pavement,  the  low  latticed  parapets,  and 
the  slender  chiselled  columns  supporting  gilded  lantei-ns. 
Along  this  causeway  passes  continually  a  throng  of  wor- 
shipper and  pilgrims,  making  the  journey  on  their  knees 
from  shrine  to  shrine.  Within  the  temple,  under  a  canopy 
of  crimson  velvet  and  on  crimson  cushions,  sits  the  ])riest 
readinjr  with  monotonous   intonations    from    the   sacred 


190  AN  IMPRESSIVE  SERVICE 

book,  and  facing  him  at  a  little  distance  sits  a  circle  of 
the  devout  under  the  central  dome,  which  is  enriched,  like 
the  walls,  with  faded  color  and  with  mosaics.  Through 
the  open  doors,  partly  covered  by  scarlet  portieres,  streams 
the  blue  light  from  the  rippling  water.  Pigeons  fly  in 
and  out  over  the  heads  of  the  worshippers,  and  there  is 
always  a  noise  of  cooing  and  of  wings.  When  one  re- 
turns by  the  white  causeway  bordered  by  gilded  lanterns 
through  the  silver  gates  to  the  mainland,  he  sees  before 
him  another  and  higher  temple,  with  golden  domes,  and 
from  a  gallery  in  the  second  story,  where  behind  red  cur- 
tains and  awnings  there  is  a  glimmer  of  color  and  tar- 
nished gold,  the  Granth*  is  read  in  the  morning  to  the 
accompaniment  of  strange  music  played  by  an  orchestra 
seated  below  on  the  mosaic  pavement  and  in  the  shadow 
of  tall  trees.  At  this  hour  banners  aVe  hoisted  on  the  two 
flag-staffs  which  rise  from  the  court.  There  is  much  which 
is  impressive  in  the  ritualism  of  the  Sikhs,  and  it  is  free 
from  a  certain  element  of  Hindoo  ^vorship  which  strikes 
Western  observers  as  being  grotesque  or  barbaric.  The 
influence  of  the  Greeks  in  northern  India  is  now  believed 
to  have  been  both  slight  and  transient,  and  it  would  be 
going  quite  beyond  the  mark  and  venturing  fathomless 
depths  to  attempt  the  tracing  of  any  connection,  how- 
ever remote,  between  this  open-air  school  of  Sikh  phi- 
losophy and  those  of  Greece.  But  the  more  modern  race 
seems  to  have  inherited  the  taste  of  the  older  one  in  the 
matter  of  poetic  surroundings. 

While  painting  within  the  precincts  of  the  temple  I  had 
excellent  opportunities  of  studying  the  ways  of  the  peo- 
ple. The  chief  of  the  temple  police,  who  often  accom- 
panied me  and  pointed  out  the  things  of  interest,  was  a 

*  The  sacred  book  of  the  Sikhs. 


ONLY   A   BUST 


191 


fine  type  of  the  martial  Sikh — erect  and  rigid  in  his  bear- 
ing, with  a  bristling  fan-shaped  black  beard,  and  huge 
snowy  turban,  partly  concealing  his  ears.  I  soon  divined 
that  he  had  a  lingering  hope  of  being  handed  down  to  pos- 
terity on  canvas,  so  I  presented  him  with  a  sketch  of  him- 
self when  we  parted,  by  which  he  was  much  gratified, 
but  at  the  same  time  somewhat  puzzled  and  perplexed.  As 
the  canvas  was  small,  I  was  obliged  to  leave  out  his  hands, 


FI.OWER-SKLLKRS    IN    TIIK    GOI.DKN    TKMPI.K 


192  A  SAMPLE   OF   RED   TAPE 

which,  I  fear,  he  considered  an  unaccountable  oversight. 
The  folding  easel  and  camp-stool,  which  were  at  first  re- 
garded with  polite  curiosity  and  afterwards  with  gradual- 
ly increasing  mistrust  by  the  devout  promenaders,  gave 
rise  to  rather  an  amusing  incident.  I  noticed  that  pass- 
ing couples  and  groups  of  priests  and  fakirs  would  gaze  in- 
tently at  those  unusual  objects,  and  then  pass  on,  talking 
earnestly  together.  Two  of  them  finally  stopped,  and  upon 
looking  up  I  saw  that  they  were  having  an  animated  dis- 
cussion with  my  servant,  who  reluctantly  interpreted  what 
they  were  saying.  It  seemed  that  they  had  taken  excep- 
tion to  the  unfortunate  camp-stool,  for  by  some  law  of  their 
religion  nothing  of  the  nature  of  a  chair  was  allowed 
within  the  enclosure.  I  at  once  folded  up  the  camp- 
stool,  and  the  maker  of  wooden  combs  who  was  working 
close  by  offered  me  the  box  in  which  he  kept  his  tools 
as  a  substitute,  while  the  gharry  wallah  went  out  to  the 
carriage  and  brought  back  the  cushions.  The  two  priests 
seemed  quite  satisfied  when  the  letter  of  the  law,  if  not 
its  spirit,  had  been  fulfilled,  and  courteously  allowed  the 
easel  to  remain  when  its  mysterious  mechanism  had  been 
made  clear  to  them.  Some  of  the  fakirs,  of  an  order 
peculiar  to  the  place,  wore  tall  pointed  caps,  bristling 
with  a  war-like  panoply  of  steel  blades  and  sharp-edged 
rings,  such  as  formerly  encircled  the  steel  casques  of  the 
Sikh  warriors,  and  are  now  twisted  into  the  red  turbans 
of  the  Sikh  infantry.  Two  little  girls  who  stopped  to 
look  on  were  daintily  and  elaborately  arrayed  in  holiday 
dress,  and  the  elder,  nine  or  ten  years  old  at  a  venture, 
leading  her  little  sister  by  the  hand,  wore  a  turquoise 
ring  on  each  of  her  ten  brown  toes.  All  these  person- 
ages, pacing  slowly  and  noiselessl}'  along  the  tank,  with 
always  the  same  background  of  illuminated  Avater,  are 
like  the  figures  in  a  decorative  frieze,  and  one  cannot  but 


SCHOOL  OF  THE  GOLDEN  TEMPLE 


question  whether  another  shrine  exists  so  happily  sur- 
rounded, and  where  all  discordant  elements  are  more 
completely'  shut  out.  The  impression  which  one  receives 
at  first,  and  Avhich  remains  in  one's  mind  as  a  lasting 
souvenir,  is  that  of  a  blaze  of  color  and  of  light,  in  which 
nature  has  furnished  the  complementar}'  notes,  the  purple 
of  the  sky,  and  of  the  water  ruffled  by  long  wind  streaks 
of  azure,  and  the  duskv  green  of  the  foliage,  which  so 
enhance  the  value  of  the  white  and  gold  and  scarlet ; 
and  at  the  same  time  the  knowledge  that  every  archi- 
tectural detail  which  meets  the  eye  is  of  costly  and  pre- 
cious workmanship  does  not  detract  from  the  charm. 

But  there  is  one  incongruity,  one  slightly  jarring  note. 
and  that  is  the  obtrusive  brick  clock -tower  which  domi- 
nates the  enclosure  at  the  entrance.  Built  in  a  style 
which  might  be  termed  Early  New  England  Gothic,  it 
must  have  reminded  many  an  American  wanderer  of  the 
fire-engine  house  in  his  native  village,  or  the  ambitious 

13 


194  A  COMPOSITE  FAITH 

but  inexpensive  church-tower  of  sanded  wood.  Far  from 
being  intended  as  a  gratuitous  insult  to  the  Sikhs,  it  was 
most  probably  a  generous  donation  on  the  part  of  the 
European  community,  meant  to  serve  as  a  perpetual  ob- 
ject-lesson in  architecture,  and  as  a  dignified  protest 
against  barbaric  excess  of  ornament. 

The  religion  of  the  Sikhs  originated  about  the  end  of 
the  fifteenth  century,  and  according  to  Mr.  J.  A.  Baines, 
to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  the  admirable  census  of 
India  (1891),  "  was  due  to  the  teaching  of  one  of  the 
most  influential  sectarian  leaders  of  a  quasi  -  unitarian 
revival  amongst  the  lower  classes  of  Brahmanism  "  ;  and 
although  mainly  Brahmanic,  the  Sikh  religion  shows 
traces  of  the  influence  of  Islam.  Mr.  Baines  further 
says :  "  The  political  objects  of  the  Sikh  leaders  obscured 
the  doctrinal,  and  culminated  in  the  establishment  of  the 
kingdom  of  Runjeet  Singh.  In  the  pi-esent  day  peace  has 
relaxed  the  bonds  of  discipline,  and  the  distinction  be- 
tween Sikhs  and  the  rest  of  the  Brahmanic  community  is 
mainly  ritualistic.  .  .  .  For  example,  it  was  found  by  ex- 
perience that  at  the  census  the  only  trustworthy  method 
of  distinguishing  the  creed  was  to  ask  if  the  persons  in 
question  repudiated  the  services  of  the  barber  and  the 
tobacconist,  for  the  precepts  most  strictly  enforced  now- 
adays are  that  the  hair  of  the  head  and  face  must  never 
be  touched,  and  that  smoking  is  a  habit  to  be  absolutely 
avoided." 

To  go  deeply  into  the  distinguishing  marks  of  these  be- 
wildering castes  and  their  subdivisions  would  perplex  an 
ethnological  expert,  and  the  casual  amateur  is  too  often 
distracted  by  the  sensuous  outward  beauty  of  things  to 
enter  deeply  into  such  questions  of  abstract  analysis. 


A   PAINTER'S    IMPRESSIONS   OF  RAJPOOTANA 

I 

Ox  some  maps  of  India  the  territory  which  is  entirely 
under  British  rule  is  tinted  red,  while  those  states  still 
under  the  sway  of  native  potentates  are  indicated  by  a 
wash  of  yellow,  and  it  is  at  first  something  of  a  surprise 
to  find  this  tract  relatively  so  large.  In  the  western  part 
of  the  empire  there  is  a  great  triangular  space,  having 
its  base  along  the  valley  of  the  Indus,  and  its  ai)ex  reach- 
ing southward  to  the  tropic  ;  within  this  space  are  situ- 
ated the  contiguous  dominions  of  several  of  these  rulers, 
and  they  are  the  states  which  show  fewest  results  of  Eu- 
ropean influence.  Bikanir  lies  in  the  northern  part  of 
this  tract,  separated  from  the  English  strip  along  the  In- 
dus by  the  Bikanir  Desert ;  southward  lie  Jodhpore  and 
Jussulmeer,  and  then  Oudeypore ;  while  to  the  eastward 
are  Jeypore,  Alwar,  Gwalior,  Patiala,  and  many  others  ; 
the  important  state  of  Cashmir  lies  far  to  the  north  ;  south- 
ward, and  well  within  the  tropic,  Baroda ;  and  in  the  Dec- 
can  the  great  state  of  Il3'derabad.  These  scattered  prin- 
cipalities, and  many  smaller  ones,  comprise  all  that  is  left 
of  the  "  India  of  the  Bajahs,"  where  the  feudal  age  and 
its  customs  still  survive  to  a  greater  or  lesser  extent,  and 
the}''  acknowledge  to-day  the  suzerainty  of  the  Queen-Em- 
press, as  they  once  did  that  of  the  Mogul  emperors.  The 
prince,  whatever  his  title  may  be — Maharajah,  Guicowar, 
Nizam,  or  Rao — governs  his  kingdom  and  administers  jus- 


196  A  RESPONSIBLE   POSITION 

tice  much  as  his  fathers  did  before  the  advent  of  the  Eng- 
lish ;  the  representative  of  the  viceregal  government,  or 
indirectly  of  the  crown,  is  st^^led  the  Political  Agent  or 
Resident,  and  while  his  official  position  might  be  compared 
to  that  of  a  foreign  minister  at  a  small  European  court, 
it  is  relatively  more  important  and  complicated.  He  is 
in  effect  the  political  adviser  of  the  governing  prince,  and 
through  him  are  transmitted  the  wishes  or  commands  of 
the  imperial  government,  which,  although  they  may  reach 
the  prince  in  the  shape  of  polite  suggestions,  are  not  to 
be  disregarded.  In  many  states  the  position  of  this  offi- 
cial personage,  this  power  behind  the  throne,  may  appear 
to  be  a  sinecure,  but  it  may  become,  without  a  moment's 
warning,  a  position  of  grave  responsibility.  Upon  the 
Resident  devolves  also  the  duty  of  looking  after  his  coun- 
trymen who  come  within  the  borders  of  his  jurisdiction. 
Not  that  he  is  supposed  to  keep  a  hotel  for  globe-trotters, 
although  he  never  lacks  guests,  nor  is  he  officially  obliged 
to  take  any  notice  of  strangers ;  but  he  always  knows 
what  Europeans  are  within  his  borders,  and  what  they 
are  doing.  While  there  is  no  apparent  system  of  "  es- 
pionage," and  the  stranger,  of  whatever  race  or  nation,  is 
free  to  come  and  go  at  Avill  without  of  necessity  coming 
in  contact  with  any  official  whatsoever,  there  is  a  pro- 
vision, and  a  very  clever  one,  for  the  entertainment  of  the 
casual  stranger,  which  is  sufficient  for  most  emergencies. 
It  could  be  made,  without  any  official  action  being  ap- 
parent, exceedingly  difficult  for  any  one  considered  ob- 
jectionable, or  whose  motives  were  liable  to  suspicion,  to 
find  a  night's  lodging  or  a  "square  meal"  in  most  native 
states.  With  the  exception  of  Jeypore,  I  cannot  remem- 
ber any  other  capital  of  a  native  state  provided  with  a 
hotel,  and  the  "  trav^eller's  bungalow "  is  usually  main- 
tained by  the  Rajah,  and  is  often  unprovided  with  cook 


EASE  AND  COMFORT  197 

or  khansaraah.  This  measure,  whether  intentional  or  not, 
is  cleverly  calculated  to  keep  out  European  tramps  or 
vagabonds,  who  do  not  usually  travel  accompanied  by 
cooks  and  servants,  while  at  the  same  time  any  one  with 
respectable  credentials  is  sure  at  least  of  being  well  re- 
ceived. 

These  states  of  Rajpootana  do  not  seem  to  suffer  from 
the  plethoric  excess  of  population  which  weighs  upon 
other  districts.  Since  the  government  has  begun  to  look 
seriously  after  the  material  welfare  of  its  subjects,  and 
has  practically  abolished  war,  pestilence,  and  famine,  Avhich 
were  nature's  methods  of  keeping  a  just  balance  hitherto, 
the  rapid  increase  of  population  in  other  parts  has  already 
become  a  matter  of  serious  concern,  while  Eajpootana,  and 
especially  the  section  northwest  of  the  Rajpootana-Malwa 
Eaihvay,  is  still  a  sparsely  peopled,  half  desert  country. 
It  is  here  in  these  remote  states  that  the  ancient  prestige 
of  kingship  has  most  completely  escaped  the  levelling 
tendencies  of  the  ao^e,  while  at  the  same  time  the  risino^ 
generation  of  princes  are  more  or  less  under  the  influence 
of  "Western  ideas.  The  Indian  Rajah  of  to-day,  while  po- 
litically a  vassal  of  the  central  government,  which  guaran- 
tees to  him  the  autonomy  of  his  state  and  the  continuance 
of  his  dynasty,  seems  actually  to  enjoy  more  personal  in- 
dependence than  an}'  European  sovereign.  The  cares  of 
state  do  not  weigh  so  heavily  upon  him,  and  he  has  more 
time  to  indulge  his  personal  tastes  and  to  cultivate  "  fads."' 
This  also  means  a  larger  opportunity  for  culture  of  a 
higher  class  if  he  is  disposed  to  avail  himself  of  it.  and 
there  is  no  reason  why  he  should  not  begin  life  as  an  Eton 
schpol-boy,  if  it  is  thought  best  for  him.  and  take  his  de- 
gree at  Oxford  or  elsewhere.  A  prominent  Rajah  has 
just  received  the  degree  of  LL.D.  at  Cambridge,  and  has 
donated  a  large  sum  to  the  university  for  the  purpose  of 


198  VARIOUS  TYPES 

founding  a  scholarship.  When  he  returns  to  his  own 
country  and  becomes  the  chief  of  the  state,  he  may  re- 
sume at  once  the  mode  of  hfe  of  his  predecessors,  and  re- 
main conservative  in  the  matter  of  religious  observances, 
immure  himself  in  the  impenetrable  privacy  of  his  vast 
and  many-windowed  stronghold,  overlooking  the  desert 
from  the  summit  of  a  rock,  or  he  may  build  himself  a  new 
Italian  villa  furnished  in  whatever  happens  to  be  the 
spirit  of  the  latest  London  art  craze,  and  cultivate  a  wider 
social  world.  Thus  we  may  find  in  these  rulers  an  infi- 
nite variety  of  type  and  character,  from  the  strict  conserv- 
ative who  is  the  most  complete  existing  survival  of  the 
feudal  age  to  the  equally  picturesque  example  in  which 
the  feudal  age  is  overlaid  with  a  thick  and  glossy  nine- 
teenth-century varnish.  There  is  the  horsy  Rajah  whose 
passion  is  the  turf,  who  imports  English  jockeys  and 
grooms,*  and  there  is  the  polo-playing  Rajah,  and  the 
one  who  has  translated  Shakespeare  into  Hindostanee,  as 
well  as  the  other  whose  greatest  literary  feat  was  the 
translation  of  the  Queen's  Journal.  There  is  also  the  fine 
old  conservative  who  has  but  one  wife,  and  slays  his  tigers 
with  his  own  hand.  These  little  kings  have  an  easier  and 
a  much  more  royal  life  than  their  less  fortunate  confreres 
in  Europe,  where  the  kingly  vocation  is  hedged  about 
with  doubt  and  uncertainty  at  present.  They  are  not 
troubled  as  yet  with  socialists,  nihilists,  or  with  dynamite, 
which  they  regard  only  as  a  useful  plaything  for  blowing 
up  rocks  and  making  a  noise.  The  uncensored  free  press 
of  India  has  little  influence  over  the  masses  of  their  sub- 
jects, for  the  most  part  loyal  to  old  traditions,  but  illit- 
erate, and  those  who  can  read  have  scant  respect  for  the 


*  As  early  as  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  Emperor 
Jehanghis  prided  himself  on  his  English  carriages  and  horses. 


A  LIFE  WITHOUT  RESTRICTION  199 

querulous  fault-finding  of  Babu  journalists.  The  modern 
Kajah  has  become  a  prominent  figure  everywhere.  One 
meets  him  gazing  abstractedly  at  the  passing  crowd  of  ras- 
taquouores  and  tourists  from  the  steps  of  the  Grand  Hotel, 
and  wearing  usually  a  pair  of  patent-leather  shoes  with  side 
elastics,  which  mar  the  effect  of  his  otherwise  correct  at- 
tire, or  sitting  in  front  of  a  cafe  at  the  absinthe  hour  when 
he  is  out  of  business,  or  giving  a  dinner  at  an  open- 
air  restaurant  on  the  Champs-Elysees.  AVe  meet  him  at 
Aix-les-Bains  or  at  Homburg,  and  we  hear  of  him  in 
London  or  Long  Branch.  We  have  seen  him  in  lavender 
and  gold  turban  sitting  in  a  box  at  the  Hippodrome,  while 
the  dashing  cortege  of  Roman  princesses  drove  past  in 
chariots.  He  has  the  privilege,  denied  to  European  sov- 
ereigns, of  leading  at  will  a  double  existence,  and  when 
he  leaves  his  work  in  India  he  has  Europe  for  a  play- 
ground. The  papers  from  time  to  time  teem  with  stories 
of  his  freaks,  his  fetes,  and  extravagances.  Of  the  reveree 
side  of  his  life,  especially  from  a  political  standpoint, 
those  gentlemen  of  the  civil  and  military  service  who 
have  been  Residents  could  tell  many  tales,  which  it  would 
be  unwise  to  repeat  here,  as  they  might  mar  the  effect 
of  the  picture.  So  long  as  things  run  smoothly  on  in  his 
dominion  he  has  little  to  fear  from  any  disturbino-  out- 
side  elements,  and  in  any  case  the  worst  which  could 
ha])pen  to  him  would  be  a  diminution  of  his  salute  by  one 
or  two  jruns.* 


*  The  relative  importauce  of  a  priuce  is  indicated  by  the  immber  of 
^UDs  in  the  salute  accorded  to  hitn  by  the  government. 


200  A  RAILROAD  WITH  TWO  TRAINS  A  DAY 


n 

JODHPOEE   IN    1881 

It  is  a  difficult  journey  from  anj'  quarter  to  Jodhpore,  and  cannot 
well  be  undertaken  without  assistance  from  the  Maharajali,  as  there  is 
much  sand,  which  is  best  crossed  by  camels.  —  Murray's  Guide  to  the 
Punjaub,  ed.  1883. 

How  to  get  to  Jodhpore,  and  in  the  event  of  our  get- 
ting there  should  we  find  an}'^  shelter  more  hospitable 
than  the  cold  ground,  were  questions  which  we  tried  in 
vain  to  solve,  until  we  chanced  upon  a  copy  of  the  Raj- 
pootana-Malwa  Railway  Guide,  in  the  book-stall  at  Ah- 
medabad  station.  According  to  that  largely  circulated 
but  not  always  reliable  authority,  it  was  merely  a  matter 
of  rupees — six  and  two  annas,  first  class^ — and  the  inter- 
vention of  the  Eajah  would  be  quite  unnecessary,  as  the 
Jodhpore  State  Railway,  starting  from  Marwar  Junction 
on  the  main  line,  had  just  been  opened. 

The  second  and  more  momentous  question  was  satis- 
factorily solved,  after  having  written  to  the  station- 
master  of  Jodhpore,  and  having  received  in  reply  a  postal- 
card,  stating  that  there  was  a  dak  bungalow  and  a 
khansamah.  Upon  investigation  it  appeared  that  this 
little  railway  had  two  trains  a  day — one  up  and  the  other 
down ;  and,  as  elsewhere  in  India,  both  of  them  either 
started  or  arrived  at  unseasonable  hours.  "We  could  not 
take  the  mail -train  from  Ahmedabad  without  waiting 
twelve  hours  at  Marwar  Junction,  and  the  only  alternative 
was  to  take  the  "  mixed  "  or  slow  train,  chiefly  patronized 
by  natives  of  the  country,  who,  as  we  soon  learned,  were 
all  hurrying  to  avail  themselves  of  the  cheap  and  com- 
paratively expeditious  mode  of  travel  now  placed  at  their 


ROADSIDE  POPULATION 


201 


disposal  by  his  Highness,  assisted  by  the  great  British 
Raj.  We  were  obliged,  perforce,  to  follow  their  ex- 
ample, pass  the  night  in  the  train,  and  get  out  at  the 
junction  at  5  p.m.,  there  to  await  the  departure  of  the 
Jodhpore  train,  an  hour  later.  As  we  rattled  on  through 
the  golden  green  of  guava  orchards  and  thick  plantations 
we  saw  but  little  change  in  the  landscape  since  our  first 
visit  to  India,  several  years  previous.  But  the  monkey 
population  seemed  to  have  largely  increased.     A  correct 


vi%^. 


3 


WATCHING    THK    TUAIS 


census  has  not  yet  been  taken,  but  by -and -by  the  slow- 
moving  but  thorough  British  Tlaj  will  discover  that  the 
number  of  these  white  -  bearded  and  sacred  brigands 
triples  every  year,  and  will  consider  the  necessity  of  trans- 
porting some  of  them  beyond  tlie  seas  in  the  interests  of 
the  guava  culture.  We  had  ample  opportunity  as  the 
train  went  on  for  the  study  of  this  guava  culture  in  its 
different  phases.  In  one  orchard  the  trees  were  full  of 
the  long-tailed  marauders  ;  the  patriarchs,  often  of  great 


202  MISCHIEVOUS  MONKEYS 

size  and  strength,  and  endowed  with  supernatural  activity, 
were  ripping  off  fruit — leaves,  branches,  and  all — with  no 
gentle  hand,  and  throwing  them  down  for  the  benefit  of 
the  little  ones,  while  farther  on  we  passed  a  w^hole  tribe 
fleeing  before  the  enraged  husbandman,  not  giving  them- 
selves overmuch  trouble,  but  easily  leaving  him  and  his 
water-skin  out  of  sight  in  a  few  long  bounds,  and  taking 
refuge  like  a  flight  of  locusts  in  the  next  orchard.  But 
they  seemed  to  enjoy  life  withal,  and  those  that  had  fin- 
ished their  day's  work  and  earned  a  little  leisure  came 
down  to  the  embankment  and  sat  in  rows  to  see  the  train 
go  by,  the  big  ones  looking  meditatively  down  at  us 
while  the  children  nestled  in  front. 

In  the  dry  chill  of  a  December  morning,  and  in  the 
■dim  blue  twilight  between  the  waning  of  the  moon  and 
the  first  flush  of  dawn,  we  found  ourselves  surrounded  by 
our  baggage  on  the  platform  confronting  the  clustered 
white  domes  of  the  station  at  Marwar  Junction,  which 
rose  up  pale  and  ghostly  in  the  wan  light,  looking  more 
like  the  sanctuary  of  a  Moslem  saint  than  a  railway 
junction.  Following  our  "  boy  "  and  the  baggage  coolies, 
we  crossed  the  tracks  to  the  opposite  platform,  where  we 
could  just  make  out  another  train.  This  train  was  not 
yet  made  up,  and  the  temperature  being  uncomfortably 
low  outside  we  settled  ourselves  in  the  station-master's 
office,  where  we  beguiled  the  time  with  hot  tea,  and 
with  watching  the  Babu  ticket  -  seller  doling  out  third- 
class  tickets  to  natives  at  his  little  window,  a  func- 
tion accompanied  by  much  bullying  and  browbeating 
on  his  part,  and  vexation  of  spirit  on  theirs.  Every  piece 
of  money  which  he  took,  after  being  well  tried  and  rung, 
was  often  as  not  flung  back  in  the  face  of  the  humble 
passenger,  accompanied  by  a  volley  of  abuse  if  he  was  not 
quick  enough  in  getting  out  his  change  from  the  bulky 


A  TYPICAL    RAILROAD  203 

hoard  of  copper  "pice"'  tied  up  in  the  end  of  his  turban  or 
in  a  fold  of  the  waist-cloth  ;  and  one  could  not  but  wonder 
at  the  patience  and  resignation  with  which  the}'  all  re- 
ceived the  insolence  of  Jack  -  in  -  office.  When  no  fault 
could  be  found  with  the  money  he  threw  their  tickets  at 
them,  and  slammed  down  their  change  with  such  vehe- 
mence that  bits  of  it  rolled  oif  on  the  floor.  At  last  the 
station-master,  tall  and  spectacled,  in  a  flat  black  velvet  cap 
and  an  English  sack-coat,  from  which  a  quantity  of  white 
cotton  drapery  escaped  and  floated  loosely  about  his  thin, 
bare  legs,  came  out  to  unlock  the  door  of  the  compart- 
ment we  were  to  occupy ;  and  after  installing  ourselves  as 
the  train  crawled  slowly  out  at  sunrise,  we  began  the  day 
with  a  substantial  "  chota  liazri "  from  the  store  put  up 
at  the  Ahmedabad  bungalow.  For  the  greater  part  of 
the  way  the  line  seemed  to  have  no  embankment,  and  to 
consist  of  a  single  track  laid  down  in  the  desert,  with  the 
merest  sketch  of  a  road  -  bed.  The  country  was  not  a 
desert  of  the  sandy  sort,  but  only  a  waste  of  gravel,  for 
the  most  part  treeless,  except  for  rare  and  scattered  thick- 
ets of  gray  thorny  bushes,  or  distant  clumps  of  trees  in- 
dicating the  position  of  a  village.  "Where  the  plain  did 
not  merge  into  the  sky  the  horizon  was  a  range  of  low 
hills,  varied  by  occasional  isolated  peaks,  with  sharp  vol- 
canic outlines,  which  dwindled  as  we  approached  them 
into  brown,  mound-like  eminences  of  no  great  height.  On 
the  top  of  every  telegraph  pole  was  perched  a  hawk,  a 
kite,  or  a  buzzard,  always  motionless  ;  and,  in  truth,  the 
rate  of  speed  at  which  the  Rajah's  train  crept  slowly  over 
the  sixty-four  miles  of  gravel  was  not  likely  to  interfere 
with  their  digestive  meditations. 

"When  we  reached  a  village,  or  even  a  flag-house,  with  a 
collection  of  mud  huts  in  the  background,  we  made  a 
lengthy  halt,  and  when  the  engineer  met  an  acquaintance 


204  A  JODHPORE  SWELL 

we  came  to  a  stand-still ;  and  on  all  these  occasions  the 
gaunt,  jackal  -  faced  village  dogs  trotted  alongside  for 
miles,  looking  wistfully  up  for  the  chance  bone  or  crust  of 
bread,  or  they  ran  on  ahead  and  barked  at  the  engine. 
These  capricious  halts  did  not,  as  might  be  supposed,  sub- 
ject us  to  the  risk  of  collision,  since  our  train  comprised 
the  company's  entire  rolling-stock.  A  dapper  little 
Thakor  or  princeling  of  some  sort  entered  the  other  com- 
partment of  our  carriage  at  one  of  the  way  stations,  and 
his  crowd  of  retainers  got  into  third-class  carriages  some 
distance  off.  As  he  stepped  out  at  every  station  to  issue 
orders  to  his  people,  we  had  several  opportunities  of  ob- 
serving him.  He  was  a  fair  type  of  the  Jodhpore  swell, 
young,  with  a  budding  mustache,  and  hair  brought  down 
in  a  large  glistening  curl  over  each  cheek.  His  small 
pink  turban,  dainty  as  a  lady's  breakfast-cap,  was  cocked 
jauntily  on  one  side,  and  he  wore  a  caftan  of  striped  and 
rainbow-tinted  silk ;  he  kindled  a  fresh  cigarette  at  each 
station,  and  his  little  air  of  insolent  swagger  was  quite  in 
harmony  with  the  rakish  set  of  his  turban  and  his  aggres- 
sive side-locks.  It  is  now  a  long  time  since  these  med- 
ijeval  swashbucklers  have  had  a  chance  to  exercise  their 
hereditary  calling,  but  a  little  taste  of  guerilla  warfare 
would  not  come  amiss  to  them.  At  one  of  these  stations, 
where  he  had  sent  a  servant  to  look  for  a  clean  handker- 
chief among  his  luggage,  the  train  had  to  wait  until  it 
was  forthcoming.  The  conductor,  a  native  having  a  few 
words  of  English  at  his  command,  looked  in  at  the  win- 
dow from  time  to  time,  and  evidently  took  a  deep  interest 
in  our  welfare,  for  he  seemed  much  concerned  when  he 
learned  that  we  had  no  acquaintances  in  Jodhpore,  but 
felt  relieved  when  I  explained  that  we  had  notified  the 
khansamah  at  the  dak  bungalow  of  our  coming.  Tow- 
ards noon  we  sighted  a  long,  steep  ridge  of  rocks  with 


PALACE    WINDOWS,  JODHPORE 


206  THE   EVENT  OF   THE  DAY 

scattered  white  buildings  on  the  top,  and  others  gleaming 
among  gardens  on  the  plain ;  and  as  we  drew  nearer  we 
saw  that  the  white  spots  on  the  ridge  were  part  of  the 
vast  pile  of  architecture  erected  centuries  ago  by  the 
Rajahs  of  Jodhpore,  and  placed  like  an  eagle's  nest  on  the 
very  summit  of  this  inaccessible  crag.  When  we  reached 
the  station,  which  resembles  another  saint's  tomb  with 
white  domes,  it  was  at  once  evident  that  the  arrival  of 
the  train  was  still  the  event  of  the  day  in  this  hitherto 
isolated  capital,  for  a  large  part  of  the  population  had 
assembled  outside,  and  was  looking  eagerly  over  the 
fence — a  long  line  of  brown  faces,  with  well-oiled  black 
locks  curling  over  their  ears,  with  mustaches  and  beards, 
all  having  the  piratical  upward  tilt  affected  by  the  Rajpoot 
order.  ]S[early  all  were  in  white,  with  dashes  of  red  and 
gold ;  women  and  children  filled  up  the  interstices,  and 
behind  them  stretched  a  plain  of  glaring  red  sand,  back  to 
the  gray  line  of  battlemented  walls  which  hid  the  town. 
In  the  faint  shadow  cast  by  a  few  young  acacia -trees 
which  had  been  recently  planted  in  the  sand  groups  of 
fiiery  little  horses  were  tethered,  and  slender  camels  with 
the  double  saddles  in  vogue  here,  all  decked  out  with 
yellow  and  scarlet  harnesses  and  saddle  -  cloths,  with 
strings  of  blue  beads,  charms,  and  gaudy  housings ;  there 
were  also  bullock  -  gharries  with  tented  domes  of  faded 
red,  and  a  large  barouche,  superannuated  and  dusty.  Two 
low  square  buildings  of  dark  stone  like  the  station,  and 
likewise  painfully  new,  stood  a  little  farther  down  the 
sandy  track  leading  to  the  town.  One  of  them  was  the 
bungalow;  and  having  gathered  our  belongings,  and  in- 
trusted the  various  packages  to  baggage-coolies,  we  hur- 
ried across  to  our  quarters;  for  the  glare  of  noon  here, 
even  in  December,  makes  any  shelter  seem  inviting.  The 
little  prince  was  driven  away  in  the  barouche,  surrounded 


BUNGALOW  ACCOMMODATIONS  207 

by  a  compact  mob  of  men,  some  running  in  front  and 
some  behind,  all  carrying  swords  and  guns.  The  tall 
camels,  each  with  a  pair  of  swaying  riders,  and  the  pro- 
cession of  slower-moving  bullock -carts,  followed  in  the 
rear.  We  were  met  on  the  veranda  by  a  smirking  and 
salaaming  khansamah  of  a  debased  Rajpoot  type,  who 
announced,  as  he  lifted  the  cane  mat  which  hung  over 
the  door,  that  tiffin  was  ready. 

The  bungalow,  being  brand-new  and  clean,  was  not  un- 
inviting, but,  as  usual,  our  quarters  were  not  overbur- 
dened with  furniture  —  two  "charpies,"  or  native  bed- 
steads, guiltless  of  any  covering  whatever  to  conceal  the 
nakedness  of  the  net- work  of  stout  tape  on  which  the 
traveller  is  expected  to  lay  his  weary  frame ;  for  he  is 
still  supposed  to  carry  his  bedding  whenever  he  goes  far 
afield  into  "  Mofussil "  districts — to  use  the  current  phrase 
for  whatever  is  beyond  Calcutta  and  Bombay.  In  the 
middle  of  the  room  stood  a  square  table  holding  the 
"  tiffin  "  and  two  or  three  chairs.  A  door  at  one  corner 
opened  into  the  bath  -  room,  furnished  with  a  decrepit 
wash-stand,  a  brass  basin,  and  a  wooden  tub  which  had 
seen  service  long  before  the  existence  of  this  bungalow : 
all  bath-rooms  which  I  have  seen  in  India,  whether  in 
private  houses  (with  few  exceptions)  or  in  hotels,  are  of 
one  uniform  pattern.  There  is  a  chunar,  or  cement  floor, 
and  the  space  where  the  tub  stands  is  fenced  off  by  a 
low  parapet  of  cement,  on  whicli  a  row  of  round  and  un- 
wieldy pots  of  red  clay  stand  in  depressions.  They 
are  too  bulky  to  lift,  and  exhibit  an  unpleasant  tendency 
when  molested  to  slop  over  on  the  wrong  side  and  pour 
their  contents  over  one's  shoes,  so  that  it  is  safer  not 
to  go  near  them.  From  the  front  veranda  (for  there  was 
another  veranda,  on  to  which  a  door  opened  at  the  oppo- 
site end)  a  landscape  of  red  sand  lay  before  us,  bounded 


208  SIGHT-SEEING 

by  the  line  of  gray  walls ;  one  or  two  massive  and  som- 
bre-hued  trees  rose  above  the  wall,  and  over  all  the  distant 
castle  built  upon  the  rock.  We  were  awakened  early  on 
the  following  morning  by  the  deep  and  guttural  croaking 
of  the  ravens,  which  strutted  about  on  the  veranda  or  sat 
on  the  door-steps.  The  ceaseless  cawing  of  the  ubiqui- 
tous crow  we  were  already  accustomed  to,  but  the  sud- 
den rasping  croak  of  a  raven  uttered  a  few  3^ards  from 
the  sleeper's  ear  has  quite  the  effect  of  an  alarm-clock. 

Having  ascertained  that  there  were  no  carriages  to  be 
had  for  mere  lucre,  no  Parsee  livery  -  stable,  and  not  a 
vehicle  of  any  sort,  I  left  the  "  mem  sahib "  on  the 
veranda,  and  proceeded  on  foot  to  hunt  up  the  Political 
Agent,  and  to  take  in  the  town  on  the  way.  It  was 
not  a  long  tramp  through  the  sand  to  the  nearest  gate, 
■and  the  mystery  of  the  silent  gray  walls  and  what  might 
lay  behind  them  would  have  stimulated  one  to  far  greater 
exertion.  Within  the  gateway  there  was  deeper  sand,  a 
few  large  trees,  some  ruinous  shells  of  masonry,  and  rough 
stone  walls  masking  the  gardens  behind.  Taking  the 
most  promising  of  two  or  three  narrow  streets  which 
began  at  this  point,  we  kept  on  in  the  shadow  of  fortress- 
like houses,  often  of  red  stone,  and  sometimes  white- 
washed. The  rare  balconied  windows  usually  projected 
over  tall  pointed  gateways,  and  through  many  of  them 
we  entered,  first  asking  of  the  gate-keeper,  or  whoever 
we  happened  to  encounter  inside,  permission  to  look  about 
the  court -yard,  and  we  invariably  met  with  courtesy. 

The  facades  fronting  on  this  outer  court  are  decorated 
with  the  usual  wealth  of  delicate  stone  tracery,  and  often 
the  story  above,  resting  on  plain  and  massive  arcades,  is 
one  continuous  latticed  gallery,  projecting  well  outward, 
relieved  by  ornate  little  windows  at  intervals.  In  one 
quarter  a  few  groups  of  palaces  surrounded  a  large  tank. 


ARCHITECTURAL  LACE-AVORK  20[) 

One  of  them,  built  of  red  sandstone  of  exactly  the  same 
color  and  value  as  the  sand  in  front,  seemed  to  me  then  — 
and  will  always  seem,  for  I  have  kept  a  study  of  it — a 
marvellous  combination  of  massive  simplicity  and  grace- 
ful, but  not  excessive,  decoration.  The  walls,  which  rose 
directly  from  the  sand  of  the  road,  save  for  a  species  of 
ramp  in  front,  leading  up  to  the  high  Persian  arch  of  the 
entrance,  were  unrelieved  below  by  a  single  ornamental 
detail,  while  all  the  decoration  wiis  lavished  on  the  pro- 
jecting windows  above.  The  great  central  window  over 
the  gate  had  the  curved  cornice*  or  window-cap  char- 
acteristic of  the  later  Mogul  style,  the  panels  were  filled 
in  with  beautiful  stone  lace-work,  while  on  either  side 
were  slender  bay-windows  of  varied  forms.  Through  the 
open  gate  below  the  green  foliage  of  the  garden  made  a 
pleasing  note  in  the  expanse  of  red.  The  beauty  of  this 
fayade  was  greatly  enhanced  b}^  the  fantastic  shadows 
thrown  on  the  flat  wall  by  these  various  projections. 
Beyond  this  building  the  road  passes  under  a  sulphur- 
tinted  arch,  forming  part  of  a  house  lavishly  sculptured 
and  frescoed.  We  had  ascertained  by  inquiry  that  there 
was  as  yet  no  "  Residency,"  and  that  this  road  led  to 
the  camp  where  the  Political  Agent  was  living  in  tents. 
Presently  it  led  us  into  what  looked  like  the  outskirts  of 
a  country  fair  or  a  colossal  travelling  show.  Booths  and 
tents  became  thicker  on  both  sides ;  there  were  itinerant 
merchants,  sweetmeat -sellers,  grooms  leading  blanketed 
horses,  an  elephant  or  two  divested  of  their  gaudy  over- 
coats, and  busily  tucking  away  vast  quantities  of  forage; 
a  number  of  riding -camels  were  tethered  in  one  place, 
and  pompous  chamberlains  in  scarlet -and -gold  liveries 
strutted  about  with  tall  silver  maces.     Over  the  tops  of 

*  Alluded  to  by  Fergussou  as  the  Bengali  curved  cornice. 
u 


210  CANVAS  COMFORT 

the  tents  a  showily  decorated  and  galleried  wooden  struct- 
ure, like  the  grand-stand  at  a  race-course,  rose  in  the  back- 
ground. We  were  directed  to  the  tent  of  the  Political 
Agent,  where  I  sent  in  my  card  by  the  bearer.  Should 
one's  first  initiation  into  tent  life  have  been  in  Palestine^ 
he  may  remember  that  it  was  fairly  comfortable ;  in 
Persia,  both  comfortable  and  decorative ;  but  not  until  he 
reaches  India  will  he  find  its  highest  development,  and 
it  is  within  the  limits  of  possibility  that  he  may  come  to 
regard  a  house,  which  has  always  the  same  outlook  from 
the  windows,  and  Avhich  cannot  be  folded  up  and  set 
down  again  in  a  new  landscape,  as  vastly  inferior  to  a 
tent.  A  canvas  corridor  led  into  the  grateful  obscurity 
of  the  inner  sanctum,  where  a  double  roof  kept  out  the 
glare  and  the  heat  of  the  sun. 

I  found  the  Agent  sitting  at  a  table  littered  with 
books  and  papers,  and  although  in  this  instance  an  intro- 
duction of  some  sort  would  have  facilitated  matters,  our 
mission  was  soon  explained.  He  rode  over  on  the  fol- 
lowing morning  to  my  quarters,  while  I  was  sketching  in 
the  town,  and  in  the  afternoon  one  of  the  Rajah's  carriages 
came  to  take  us  to  the  castle.  The  two  syces  who  ran  in 
front  to  clear  the  way  had  work  to  do,  for  Jodhpore  streets 
were  not  intended  for  wheeled  vehicles ;  and,  fortunately 
for  the  Jodhpore  world,  visitors  do  not  often  invade  its 
narrow  bazaars,  for  all  business  seemed  to  be  suspended 
during  our  transit,  and  we  felt  like  apologizing  to  the 
citizens  for  disturbing  the  placid  current  of  their  daily 
life.  As  there  was  no  pavement  even  of  the  most  rudi- 
mentary sort,  the  wheels  sank  noiselessly  in  the  deep 
sand,  and  much  shouting  and  brandishing  of  sticks  were 
necessary  to  warn  the  people  of  our  approach.  The- 
crowds  dissolved  noiselessly  in  front,  and  the  various 
units  of  which  they  were  constituted  backed  up  in  rows. 


ROOM   FOK  THE  SAHIB  I  211 

against  walls  and  doorways  or  the  parapets  of  water- 
tanks,  forgetting  for  a  moment  their  Rajpoot  dignity, 
their  traffic  and  gossiping,  but  placing  themselves  so  as  to 
have  a  good  view  of  us;  the  little  milk-white  bullocks, 
humpbacked  and  sacred  as  they  were,  had  to  be  igno- 
miniously  hustled  off  on  one  side,  often  at  great  risk  to 
their  slender  hind-legs;  droves  of  donkeys,  loaded  with 
sand  or  stone  or  firewood,  were  driven  down  side  alleys  or 
up  on  door-steps ;  and  sometimes  a  philanthropic  Brahmin 
woukl  swoop  down  in  front  of  the  horses,  regardless  of 
peril,  to  rescue  some  heedless  puppy  from  the  wheels. 
Throuo-h  the  dust  in  front  we  could  discern  frit^htened 
camels  rearins:  and  buckin^:,  and  finally  bolting  off  with 
their  riders,  while  nothing  could  induce  the  buffaloes  to 
stand  their  ground  and  face  the  onset  of  the  running  sy- 
ces, shoutino  :  ''  The  sahib  comes  I — he  comes  I  he  comes  I" 
We  halted  in  a  small  open  square  near  a  water-tank 
surrounded  by  temples.  Here  we  had  to  get  down,  as 
the  causeway  which  led  up  to  the  castle  was  too  steep 
for  the  carriage.  At  the  beginning  of  the  ascent  we 
passed  under  an  outer  tower  guarded  by  soldiers,  between 
heavv  gates  thickly  covered  with  long  spikes,  and  closed 
by  an  enormous  bolt  fully  two  feet  in  length.  The  road, 
becoming  steeper  as  we  mounted,  was  paved  with  slippery 
slabs  of  stone,  and  in  many  places  the  slo})ing  ledges  had 
been  smoothed  over,  leaving  a  natural  pavement.  Parties 
of  dashing  cavaliers,  arrayed  in  brocade  or  fine  muslin, 
each  with  his  little  turban  so  i)laced  as  not  to  hide  the 
handiwork  of  the  Rajpoot  barber,  galloped  or  trotted  past 
us,  keeping  their  seats  with  jaunty  ease  in  spite  of  the 
treacherous  stones.  At  the  top  of  the  first  rise  a  tall 
yellow  gateway  spanned  the  road,  showing  a  ])atcii  of 
deep  blue  sky  under  the  arch,  and  overhung  by  the  jut- 
ting red  windows  of  the  palace.     A  sharp  turn  to  the 


212  SOME   CUKIOUS  GUNS 

riffht  brouo^lit  us  to  the  inner  barbican  of  the  citadel  and 
the  entrance  of  the  palace  itself;  a  few  old  palanquins 
and  dilapidated  elephant-howdahs  were  piled  up  on  the 
ramp  in  front.  Within  the  shadow  of  the  arch  we  found 
a  museum  of  antiquated  fire-arms :  matchlocks  and  shields 
were  hung  on  the  guard-house  walls,  and  there  were  curi- 
ous swivel-guns  and  mountain-batteries,  formerly  carried 
on  the  backs  of  elephants  and  camels — rows  of  musket- 
barrels,  six  or  eight  in  number,  strapped  down  on  a  thick 
plank,  so  that  they  might  be  fired  at  once,  but  it  must 
have  taken  patience  to  load  them  in  the  face  of  a  charg- 
ing enemy.  From  the  group  of  soldiers  and  retainers 
lounging  within  the  recess  of  the  gate -tower,  or  lying 
stretched  at  ease  on  charpies,  a  carelessly  dressed  fellow, 
who  seemed  nevertheless  superior  in  rank  to  the  others, 
came  out  and  offered  to  do  the  honors  of  the  palace. 
But  there  was  a  lurking  drollery  in  his  manner,  which 
seemed  to  say  that  he  was  playing  the  part  of  guide  main- 
ly for  his  own  inward  entertainment.  When  we  saw  him 
the  next  day,  blazing  with  scarlet  and  gold,  riding  at 
the  head  of  the  Rajah's  cavalry  escort,  we  congratulated 
ourselves  on  not  having  offered  him  backsheesh,  which, 
however,  be  would  probably  have  pocketed  as  part  of  the 
farce.  Beyond  the  gate  we  came  to  a  battery  consisting 
of  a  row  of  extraordinary  pieces  of  ordnance,  which  must 
have  been  as  old  as  the  Spanish  Armada  at  least ;  these 
guns  were  fashioned  in  the  likeness  of  crocodiles,  marine 
monsters,  or  crouching  tigers,  and  mounted  on  dilapidated 
and  decaying  carriages.  One  or  two  of  them,  more  con- 
ventional in  form,  were  of  enormous  size. 

From  the  edge  of  the  terrace,  which  was  simply  a  plat- 
form of  the  natural  rock,  and  without  rail  or  parapet,  we 
looked  down  full  four  hundred  feet,  past  the  white  backs 
of  wheeling  vultures,  on  the  flat  roofs  of  Jodhpore,  and 


214  A   SILVER   BED 

far  abroad  over  the  barren  plains.  Directly  below  us  were 
the  tanks,  two  squares  of  intense  blue,  reflecting  the  sky 
overheard ;  and  as  we  turned  back,  the  great  red  palace,  a 
vast  collection  of  grated  stone  windows,  seemed  to  hang 
above  us  like  tiers  of  ornamental  bird-cages.  A  few  steps 
led  up  to  an  open  court,  or  rather  terrace,  overlooked  on 
three  sides  by  the  latticed  cages.  According  to  report, 
some  hundred  ladies  of  the  late  Rajah's  household  are  still 
sheltered  behind  these  perforated  prison  walls,  but  they 
gave  no  sign  of  their  presence.  The  pavement  was  partly 
covered  by  a  faded  but  beautiful  old  carpet ;  and  crossing 
an  elevated  marble  platform,  we  entered  by  a  low  door 
of  repousse  silver-work  the  wilderness  of  courts  and  clois- 
ters, of  narrow  corridors  and  pillared  halls  and  little  bou- 
doirs, where  the  delicate  stone  tracery  of  the  windows 
softened  like  a  filmy  veil  the  light  of  the  vast  canopy  of 
sky  and  the  far-reaching  desert  landscape.  One  long  dim 
chamber,  with  two  richly  furnished  beds,  was  hung,  walls 
and  pillars  alike,  with  old  portraits  of  the  emperors  and 
the  kings  of  Delhi,  by  native  artists.  We  came  out  at 
last  in  a  small  marble  court  at  the  top  of  the  palace,  which 
was  partly  open  to  the  sky,  and  which  had  been  a  favor- 
ite sleeping-room  of  the  old  Rajah.  Mirrors,  more  or  less 
tarnished,  were  fixed  in  the  walls  on  every  side,  and  sus- 
pended from  the  roof  by  chains  hung  a  swinging  bed  of 
heavy  silver,  on  which  were  piled  the  embroidered  cush- 
ions as  they  were  left  by  the  last  occupant,  but  now 
frayed  and  dusty  with  time  and  neglect.  When  we  re- 
turned to  the  city,  through  the  many  gates,  down  the 
slippery  causeway,  stopping  again  and  again  to  enjoy  the 
changing  panorama,  and  found  the  carriage  waiting  in  the 
square  among  the  temples,  the  sun  was  already  sinking; 
and  as  we  drove  back  through  the  red  sand  of  the  city 
the  passing  figures  of  people  and  the  tall   camels,  each 


AN   IMPOSING  MASS  215 

with  a  pair  of  riders  sociably  swaying  in  unison,  one  be- 
hind the  other,  with  the  same  rhythmic  and  regular  move- 
ment, loomed  up  through  a  haze  of  golden  dust,  which 
shone  like  an  aureole  behind  their  heads ;  the  silhouettes 
of  those  in  the  track  of  the  sun  were  quite  enveloped  in 
the  glory  of  light,  while  those  nearest  us  and  in  the  shad- 
ow reflected  the  pale  violet  and  lilac  hues  of  the  eastern 
sky.  The  streets  were  as  free  from  the  noise  of  traffic 
which  one  is  accustomed  to  associate  with  a  crowded 
quarter  as  the  waterways  of  Venice :  our  wheels  made  no 
noise  as  they  sank  in  the  sand,  there  was  no  sound  of 
footfalls,  so  that  the  voices  of  the  people  chaffering,  laugh- 
ing, or  disputing  were  preternaturally  clear  and  distinct ; 
and  when  for  a  moment  these  sounds  died  away,  the  silent 
hurrying  figures  seen  through  the  haze,  mingled  with  the 
pungent  aromatic  smoke  of  the  brush  fires,  seemed  like 
dream-people,  intangible  and  unreal. 

The  market  -  place,  a  vast  parallelogram  of  sand  in  the 
centre  of  the  town,  is  enclosed  by  low  white  arcades,  en- 
tered by  four  gates,  and  swarming  with  life  on  two  or 
three  days  in  the  week.  From  this  point  one  has  the 
most  impressive  view  of  the  castle.  Just  beyond  the  ar- 
cades rises  the  steep  bare  precipice,  defended  in  places  by 
castellated  forts ;  the  precipice  merges  into  a  white  wall 
of  colossal  height,  partly  of  masonry  and  partly  the  rock 
itself;  and  above  the  wall  rises  the  castle,  like  a  compact 
walled  city,  with  pointed  spires  of  temples,  tall  battle- 
mented  towers,  and  its  multitude  of  red  latticed  windows. 
It  looks  as  impregnable  as  the  Matterhorn,  and  even  a 
scaling  party  of  Swiss  guides  would  find  work  in  reaching 
the  base  of  the  great  walls. 

The  western  wall  of  the  city  touches  a  range  of  scarred 
and  sombre  volcanic  rocks,  and  a  rougli  and  stony  cara- 
van track  which  left  the  metalled  road  at  this  point  and 


216  WASTED  ELOQUENCE 

led  up  into  a  deep  gorge  Avas  a  favorite  resort  of  ours  just 
before  sunset.  When  we  pushed  on  to  a  httle  pass  be- 
tween gaunt  black  cliffs  like  the  crater  of  a  volcano,  and 
could  look  down  through  a  ragged  notch  towards  the  set- 
ting sun,  a  desert  of  sand  stretched  before  us,  bordered  by 
dark  ranges  of  desolate  hills ;  it  was  not  altogether  devoid 
of  vegetation,  for  just  beyond  the  opening  the  road  wound 
among  the  stems  of  stunted  and  thorny  trees,  and  the 
deep-lying  hollows  were  swampy  and  filled  with  the  wav- 
ing plumes  of  tall  dry  canes.  Here  we  often  sat,  perclied 
high  up  in  a  nook  among  the  crags,  to  watch  the  trains  of 
pack-horses  or  laden  camels  hurrying  through  the  pass  so 
that  they  might  reach  the  level  road  and  the  gates  of  the 
city  before  nightfall,  which  follows  so  closely  on  the  after- 
glow. And  if  we  waited  on  until  twilight,  and  until  the 
voices  of  the  last  belated  camel -driver  had  died  away  in 
the  distance,  we  could  sometimes  make  out  far  down  in  the 
gulley  below  the  shadowy  forms  of  jackals  moving  fur- 
tively among  the  stones  and  underbrush,  and  occasionally 
a  hyena  would  come  out  into  the  light  and  utter  a  pro- 
longed wail.  Once  we  discovered  a  vulture's  nest  placed 
on  a  shelf  of  rock  near  the  city  wall,  and  while  meditating 
upon  the  feasibility  of  scaling  the  cliff,  in  order  to  have  a 
look  at  it,  we  were  approached  by  a  saintly  looking  per- 
sonage, probably  a  priest  from  the  neighboring  temple, 
who  directed  a  stream  of  voluble  oratory  at  us,  sometimes 
rising  to  vehement  exhortation,  and  again  falling  to  tones 
of  gentle  and  persuasive  remonstrance.  We  could  not  but 
admire  his  elocution ;  but  having  left  our  factotum  and  in- 
terpreter behind,  as  it  was  our  custom  when  weary  of  his 
presence,  I  have  never  been  able  to  divine  the  subject  of 
his  discourse  —  whether  it  was  an  impassioned  argument 
in  behalf  of  the  vultures,  or  whether  it  was  merely  a  sum- 
mary of  his  views  in  regard  to  the  "Ilbert  Bill." 


ORIENTAL  SPORT  217 


III 

The  society  which  watches  over  the  welfare  of  animals 
might  find  work  in  Jodlipore,  if  one  may  place  faith  in  a 
story  which  we  heard  shortly  after  leaving  that  city. 
The  narrator,  a  young  man  who  was  at  the  bungalow 
during  our  stay,  was  detained  after  our  departure  by 
some  business  with  the  Rajah,  and  he  was  invited  to  be 
present  at  some  local  "sports"  peculiar  to  the  country. 
Two  leopards  which  had  been  taken  alive  were  brought 
into  the  arena,  where  they  were  held  down  to  the  ground 
under  charjyies  by  a  number  of  coolies.  Their  claws 
were  then  drawn  out  with  pincers,  their  teeth  extracted 
or  cut  out,  and  their  tails  also  cut  off,  after  which  they 
were  let  loose,  and  the  native  gentlemen  present  then 
turned  to  and  clubbed  them  to  death  Avith  sticks.  Xot 
having  witnessed  the  spectacle  ourselves,  we  cannot  vouch 
for  the  accuracy  of  this  history,  but  merely  repeat  it  as  it 
was  told  to  us  a  few  days  later  b}'  the  gentleman  who 
had  seen  the  performance.  On  the  morning  of  our  de- 
parture, and  just  before  going  to  the  station,  a  long  pro- 
cession passed  along  the  dusty  road  under  the  gray  walls, 
escorting  the  chief  of  some  neighboring  province,  who  was 
on  his  way  to  the  durbar.  His  favorite  horse,  draped 
with  scarlet  cloth,  was  led  at  the  head  of  the  cavalry  es- 
cort, a  squadron  of  loosely  dressed  horsemen  armed  with 
swords  and  lances ;  behind  were  camels  and  horses  carry- 
ing kettle-drums  draped  with  red  cloth ;  other  retainers 
carried  scarlet  and  gold  banners,  silver  fly-brushes,  maces, 
and  other  emblems  of  authority  ;  and  then  came  a  motley 
crowd  of  foot-soldiers  armed  with  rifles.  But  the  Kajah 
himself  was  hidden  behind  the  crimson  silk  drapery  s]mn- 
gled  with  silver  stars,  which  was  thrown  over  his  palan- 


218  A   L'ANGLAISE 

quin;  a  long  line  of  tented  ox -carts  (closely  curtained) 
followed  behind,  which  probably  contained  the  ladies  of 
his  household.  When  we  reached  the  railway  station  the 
Rajah  of  Jodhpore  and  one  of  his  brothers  were  on  the 
platform.  His  Highness,  we  were  told,  was  in  the  habit 
of  passing  much  of  his  royal  leisure  there  when  the  line 
was  first  opened,  and  had  caused  a  handsomely  furnished 
reception-room  to  be  fitted  up,  whence  he  could  view  the 
arrival  and  departure  of  the  trains.  On  this  occasion 
both  he  and  his  brother  were  costumed  in  what  their 
tailor  considered  the  latest  thing  in  English  "sporting 
kit,"  and  in  which  the}^  resembled  the  travelling  Britons 
as  they  appear  on  the  stage  of  a  Parisian  theatre.  Both 
wore  shooting  -  jackets  and  knickerbockers  of  very  pro- 
nounced plaids,  and  the  brother  carried  a  dagger  stuck  in 
one  of  his  high  boots ;  great  "  solar  topees  "*  with  veils 
twisted  around  them  completed  their  attire.  The  Indian, 
of  whatever  rank  or  caste,  never  looks  his  best  in  a  white 
helmet,  which  usually  gives  liim  the  air  of  a  half-caste  but- 
ler. A  few  months  later  we  saw  him  again  from  the  es- 
trade  near  the  Haymarket,  on  the  occasion  of  the  Queen's 
Jubilee.  He  was  seated  in  a  barouche  with  other  princes, 
following  the  Queen's  carriage,  and  somewhere  between 
the  splendid  escort  of  Indian  officers  behind  her  Majesty 
and  the  squadron  of  Lifeguards  in  the  rear.  He  looked 
a  different  man  in  his  own  traditional  costume,  thickly 
jewelled  and  blazing  with  diamonds. 

*  Suu-hats. 


MEDIAEVAL   COSTUMES  219 


IV 

BIKAXIR    IN    1893 

At  the  Colonial  Exhibition  in  London  some  years  ago 
there  was  a  collection  of  large  photographs  which  looked 
as  if  they  might  have  been  taken  in  the  days  of  Saladin. 
One  of  them  represented  a  group  of  warriors  in  shirts  of 
chain -mail  and  steel  bascinets,  mounted  on  camels,  and 
armed  with  lances,  drawn  up  in  line  in  front  of  a  vast 
palace  standing  alone  in  a  plain  of  sand.  The}'  proved 
upon  inquiry  to  have  been  taken  at  Bikanir,  a  place  which 
no  one  seemed  to  know  anything  about,  except  that  it 
was  the  capital  of  an  ancient  Eajpoot  state,  in  the  midst 
of  a  waterless  desert,  very  far  from  anything  else,  and  dif- 
ficult of  access.  Just  before  my  arrival  in  India  last  year 
the  Jodhpore  State  Railway  had  been  extended  to  Bika- 
nir, and  through  trains  had  been  put  on,  running  from 
Marwar  Junction  to  Bikanir  in  twenty-seven  hours,  more 
or  less.  Having  ascertained  that  the  necessary  bungalow 
existed,  and  could  be  occupied  "  by  order  of  the  Regency 
Council,"  I  decided  to  avail  myself  of  an  opportunity 
which  might  not  come  twice. 

At  7ii(//it,  Marioar  Junction,  Jannary  15^  1893. — A 
crowd  of  squatting  figures,  most  of  them  in  dirty  white 
raiment,  are  grouped  around  the  flaring  torches  of  sweet- 
meat-venders and  others  who  sell  "  chupatties,"  hot  and 
greasy,  or  ladle  out  a  thick  white  paste  from  iron  pots.  An 
occasional  sharp  cry  of  anguish  escapes  from  an  inquisi- 
tive pariah  dog  who  has  pushed  his  investigations  too  far. 
Xear  by  there  is  a  covered  waiting-place  for  third-class 
passengers,  where  they  all  squat  or  recline,  closely  huddled 


220  TICKETS ! 

together,  men,  women,  and  babies,  behind  the  stone  arches 
of  the  open  arcade,  hghted  by  two  dim  lanterns.  Just 
before  the  arrival  of  the  mail-train  a  short,  portly  Babu, 
with  pen  behind  his  ear,  stations  himself  at  the  gate,  ticket- 
punch  in  hand.  The  gate-posts  are  iron  rails  stuck  in 
the  ground,  and  the  barrier  is  constructed  of  two  telegraph 
wires  strung  from  post  to  post.  A  fierce  rush  takes  place 
when  the  gate  is  opened.  But  the  entrance  is  only  wide 
enough  for  one  to  pass  at  a  time,  and  the  Babu,  like  brave 
Horatius,  holds  his  own  against  the  tide  until  the  arrival 
of  two  black-bearded  policemen  armed  with  rattans.  On 
comes  the  struggling  horde  of  third-class  passengers,  those 
behind  pushing  the  foremost  into  the  breach  where  only 
one  may  pass,  a  sea  of  swarthy  faces  with  glittering  eyes 
which  stand  out  in  tlie  circle  of  light  from  the  lantern  in 
startling  relief  against  the  blackness  of  the  night.  Many 
of  these  faces  have  an  almost  tragic  intensity  of  expres- 
sion— there  are  momentary  gleams  of  rage,  despair,  anxi- 
ety, fatalistic  resignation.  All  of  these  people  are  loaded 
down  with  burdens ;  some  carry  huge  bundles  of  bedding, 
guns,  and  sabres,  others  brandish  umbrellas ;  rounded  arms 
sheathed  to  the  shoulder  in  lacquer  bracelets  protrude 
here  and  there  from  the  seething  mass;  babies  are  tigiitly 
held  and  shrouded  behind  embroidered  shawls.  But  the 
Babu  spares  neither  age,  sex,  nor  caste,  neither  the  orange- 
clothed  fakir  with  painted  face  nor  the  women  weighed 
down  with  bundles,  babies,  and  brazen  pots,  and  while 
they  fumble  for  their  tickets  the  policemen  rain  blows 
with  their  canes  on  the  shoulders  of  the  pushing  mob  be- 
hind. Many  faces  express  positive  fear,  and  one  patient 
old  man,  who  has  been  thrust  back  again  and  again,  is 
pushed  forward  into  the  opening  by  the  pressure  from  be- 
hind, but  is  forced  to  bide  his  time  while  the  Babu  puts 
on  his  turban,  which  had  fallen  off  in  the  fray.     He  repre- 


222  ON   THE  ROAD   TO   BIKANIR 

sents  the  government  with  official  severity,  and  when 
once  the  gate  is  closed  in  the  faces  of  those  who  are  un- 
provided with  tickets,  or  who  have  lost  them,  protesta- 
tions and  despairing  gestures  are  vain,  no  explanations  are 
listened  to,  and  the  Babu  saunters  off  serenely  to  the  plat- 
form, where  the  steady  jingle  of  the  electric  bell  announces 
the  approach  of  the  train. 


The  Jodhpore  and  Bikanir  mail  left  at  the  usual  early 
hour.  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  find  an  empty  com- 
partment, and,  in  fact,  there  was  no  other  European  on 
the  train.  The  life  along  the  road  had  lost  nothing  of 
its  primitive  character.  At  "  Metra  Road  "  some  belated 
passengers  mounted  on  camels  were  hurrying  to  catch  the 
train  along  the  sandy  track  which  led  from  the  distant 
village.  They  were  perched  high  upon  the  double-seated 
saddles  of  the  countr}'',  and  each  pair  of  riders  clung 
fraternally  to  each  other  as  they  bobbed  up  and  down, 
keeping  time  to  the  bone-breaking  strides  of  their  camels. 
While  the  master,  Avearing  the  jaunty  little  Jodhpore 
turban  above  his  well-oiled  locks,  sat  in  front,  the  servant 
took  the  back  seat,  holding  aloft  in  one  hand  the  family 
"hookah."  At  the  station  the  camels  knelt  down,  bub- 
bling and  moaning,  while  their  riders  descended  and  hur- 
ried in  to  buy  their  tickets.  Here  the  guard  telegraphed 
to  Jodhpore,  that  tiffin  might  be  ready  on  our  arrival ; 
for  should  one  neglect  to  take  this  precaution  he  would 
probably  find  nothing  to  eat  but  oranges  and  fat  "  chupat- 
ties,"  and  to  drink,  only  coffee-colored  water  poured  from 
goat-skins.  Everywhere  in  India,  and  more  particularly 
in  these  native  states,  people  are  in  the  habit  of  carrying 
about  with  them  considerable  live-stock  of  various  kinds. 


MISCELLANEOUS   FREIGHT  223 

To  be  more  specific,  I  refer  to  the  mammals  and  birds 
trained  to  assist  in  the  capture  of  game  ;  and  as  a  natural 
consequence  the  railway  hand-books  abound  with  curi- 
ous information  and  rules  interesting  to  the  naturalist. 
"  Sheep,  pigs,  goats,  calves,  if  sent  singly,  small  tame 
deer^  etc.,  and  tigei\  panther,  and  cheetah  cuhs  in  cages, 
and  which  are  so  young  as  to  be  harmless,  if  carried  by 
passenger  trains,  are  charged  at  double  the  dog  rates  for 
each  animal.  .  .  .  Cats,  ferrets,  mongooses,  monkeys,  and 
rabbits,  secured  with  a  collar  and  chain,  are  chargeable 
as  dogs,"  * 

Prudent  natives,  when  shifting  their  quarters  during 
the  snake  season,  frequently  take  along  the  family  mon- 
goose as  a  precautionary  measure.  For  those  unfamiliar 
with  this  unprepossessing  but  harmless  little  beast  it  may 
be  here  remarked  that  he  belongs  to  the  ichneumon 
caste,  and  as  his  vocation  is  the  killing  of  snakes,  he  is 
everywhere  a  welcome  visitor.  He  looks  something  like 
an  undersized  otter,  is  quick  and  spasmodic  in  his  move- 
ments, and  is  often  found  under  the  bed  in  a  long-vacant 
ddk  bungalow,  whence  he  suddenh'  scuttles  away  as  the 
door  is  opened,  and  disappears  with  a  whisk  of  his  tail  in 
the  chimney-place  or  down  the  nearest  hole. 

At  one  station  four  coolies  passed  along  the  platform 
carrying  aloft  a  charjyie,  on  which  reposed  a  cheetah, 
chained  and  blindfolded.  When  we  first  caught  sicjht  of 
him  he  was  sitting  up  like  a  cat,  with  his  ears  lying  flat 
against  his  head,  wearing  the  sulky  and  injured  look 
which  all  felines  have  under  adverse  circumstances.     A 

*  "  Camels  and  elephants  are  uot  booked  except  under  special  ar- 
rangements." Another  item  refers  to  "cremated  sacred  relics"  (Alla- 
habad Pioneer).  "Human  ashes  in  dust-tight  cases,  liftli  class,  or  ditto 
securely  packed  in  air-tight  cases,  by  passenger  train,  at  full  passenger 
rates;  but  when  accompanying  passengers,  at  luggage  rates." 


224  A  LITTLE   MODERNITY 

few  passengers  who  got  off  before  we  reached  Jodhpore 
were  provided  with  falcons  and  hawks,  some  of  them  so 
large  and  bulky  as  to  be  rather  unwieldy  ;  and  while  these 
passengers  fumbled  for  their  tickets,  the  birds  sat  on  their 
shoulders,  or  balanced  themselves  on  their  voluminous 
turbans.  The  train  reached  Jodhpore  at  noon,  and  made 
a  long;  halt.  In  the  little  restaurant  tiffin  for  one  was 
ready  on  the  table,  and  for  the  sum  of  one  rupee  was  un- 
commonly liberal  in  quantity.  Ham  and  eggs,  chops,  and 
a  broiled  chicken  were  the  principal  items  which  Avere 
inscribed  on  the  unvarying  bill  of  fare  framed  and  hung 
on  the  wall.  The  environs  of  the  station  were  hardly 
recognizable,  so  great  had  been  the  change  in  six  years. 
Where  all  had  been  sand  before  there  Avere  now  dense 
gardens,  and  the  dark  and  gloss}^  green  foliage  tempered 
the  rawness  of  the  new  stone  houses  which  had  sprung 
up  on  every  side.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  distant  castle 
and  the  desert  ridge,  one  might  have  fancied  one's  self  in 
some  new  suburban  town  of  the  far  West.  From  this 
point  on,  the  line  is  new,  and  after  leaving  the  station  we 
passed  close  to  the  modern  palace  of  the  Rajah,  built  of 
dark  red  stone,  Avith  numerous  white  cupolas,  and  covering 
a  great  extent  of  ground. 

While  the  train  Avaited  at  Jodhpore  a  portly  and  con- 
sequential personage  entered  the  compartment,  attended 
as  far  as  the  door  by  a  youth  in  a  crimson  frock-coat 
ornamented  Avith  black  velvet  collar  and  cuffs  and  brass 
buttons,  and  av earing  yellow  plaid  breeches  and  a  scarlet 
turban.  The  personage  Avore  gold  rings  on  his  toes  as 
Avell  as  in  his  ears,  and  he  Avas  followed  by  several  retain- 
ers, Avho  spread  out  his  bedding  on  the  opposite  divan,  and 
after  making  him  comfortable  they  all  left  for  their  oAvn 
compartments. 

Either  from  curiosity,  or  from  a  desire  to  be  agreeable 


226  CASTE -MARKS 

— for  the  Indian  who  has  not  travelled  much  in  English- 
speaking  countries  still  considers  it  a  mark  of  courtesy  to 
show  an  interest  in  his  fellow-man — my  vis-a-vis  proceed- 
ed to  open  a  conversation.  Motee,  who  had  been  installed 
on  the  platform,  was  called  in  to  interpret,  and,  having 
explained  my  object  in  visiting  Bikanir  to  my  fellow- 
traveller,-  he  announced  himself  to  be  a  member  of  the 
Regency  Council  of  that  state.  Now  there  is  one  thing 
in  which  the  Indian  caste  system  is  more  fortunate  than 
ours.  He  who  is  born  to  the  purple  wears  his  birthright 
emblazoned  on  his  forehead  in  the  shape  of  a  caste-mark. 
He  has  besides  a  distinguishing  costume,  and  moreover 
his  face  shows  the  hereditary  stamp  of  his  race,  so  that 
there  is  no  mistaking  any  one  of  baser  origin  for  a  mem- 
ber of  that  limited  but  august  order.  Either  his  dress  or 
his  caste-mark  are  equivalent  to  the  legend  sometimes 
seen  on  the  patent-medicine  bottles,  "  To  imitate  this  is 
felony,"  and  indeed  it  would  be  felony  of  the  deepest 
dye,  unpardonable  in  this  world  or  the  next,  to  infringe 
on  the  Eajpoot  patent  of  nobility.  During  our  journey  to 
Bikanir  the  councillor  frequently  partook  of  food,  strange 
homoeopathic  little  messes  of  yellow  paste,  pomegranate 
seeds,  and  sliced  cucumbers  in  small  glass  dishes,  while  he 
gossiped  with  his  "bearer,"  who  served  them  on  a  tray  at 
his  feet.  When  time  hung  heavy  on  his  hands  he  would 
get  up  and  change  some  article  of  clothing,  and  late  in 
the  afternoon  his  servants  brought  him  an  entire  outfit, 
assisting  him  first  to  pull  off  his  thin  under-vest,  showing 
an  expanse  of  glossy  brown  skin.  They  then  proceeded 
to  wind  him  up  in  a  long  piece  of  warm-tinted  white  mus- 
lin of  delicate,  filmy  texture,  and  bordered  with  red.  This 
function,  like  exercise,  seemed  to  renew  his  appetite,  and 
he  had  another  "  go  "  at  the  little  glass  dishes.  A  sliding- 
door  at  one  end  of  the  compartment  opened  on  to  a  nar- 


RACING    WITH    THE   TRAIN  227 

row  platform  with  a  leather  seat  at  each  end,  which  could 
be  opened  across  the  platform  or  shut  down  against  the 
rail  when  not  in  use.  Prior  to  the  advent  of  my  fellow- 
traveller  I  had  occupied  the  time  either  with  writing  in- 
side, or  had  found  absorbing  interest  in  the  pages  of  the 
Traffic  31  use*  in  the  intervals  of  studying  the  landscape 
from  the  platform  seat.  As  there  was  room  enough  for 
both  of  us  outside,  we  now  studied  it  together ;  what  he 
thought  of  it  I  know  not.  It  certainly  was  monotonous, 
and  grim  enough  it  would  have  seemed  under  any  other 
heaven  than  the  soft  winter  sk}"  of  India ;  and  although  far 
from  being  a  desert  at  this  season,  it  must  look  parched 
and  burned  up  indeed  when  the  hot  winds  sweep  across  it  in 
the  spring-time,  and  every  spot  of  green  has  disappeared. 
In  the  long,  dry  stretches  of  jungle -grass  herds  of  an- 
telopes or  gazelles  were  browsing,  seldom  showing  an}' 
fear  at  the  approach  of  the  train,  and  lifting  up  their 
heads  to  look,  or  racing  along  for  a  few  rods,  springing 
clear  of  the  grass  at  each  bound,  and  pausing  in  wonder, 
with  their  slender  ears  at  right  angles,  when  they  began 
to  lose  ground.  At  sundown  the  train  waited  for  a  time 
at  a  small  station  in  what  appeared  to  be  open  countr\% 
for  no  town  or  village  was  visible  in  any  direction.  Two 
women  and  a  little  girl  got  down  and  sat  in  the  sand  near 
the  platform,  while  their  male  attendant  packed  up  their 
voluminous  bedding  and  bundles,  together  with  pots,  ket- 
tles, and  swords.  Both  ladies  were  3'oung  and  richl}'  cos- 
tumed, judging  from  the  bits  of  embroidery,  jewelry,  and 
innumerable  bangles  which  were  revealed  when  for  a 
moment  they  drew  aside  the  transparent  shawls  with 
which  they  veiled  their  faces.     Their  persistence  in  keep- 

*  The  railway  book  stall  at  Ajmeer  is  quite  up  to  date  as  regaids  re- 
cent literature,  and  ourowu  popular  authors,  together  with  Kipling  and 
Tolstoi,  seem  to  be  the  favorites. 


AT    A    WAY    STATION    NEAU    BIKANIR 


ing  their  faces  covered,  and  their  small  hands  and  feet 
showed  that  they  belonged  to  a  higher  caste  than  the  man. 
The  demure  little  girl  was  so  laden  with  ornaments  that 
she  looked  like  a  jewelled  idol.  When  everything  had 
been  packed,  and  the  bundles  of  bedding  placed  on  a  low 
two-wheeled  cart  drawn  by  milk-w^hite  bullocks,  they  all 
mounted  and  drove  away  into  the  open  country  towards 
the  red  western  sky. 

We  were  to  arrive  at  Bikanir  in  the  small  hours  of  the 
early  morning,  and  as  the  January  nights  are  cold  at  this 
latitude,*  I  had  told  Motee  not  to  let  them  rout  me  uj) 
before  8  a.m. 

But  little  of  tlie  city  can  be  seen  from  the  station — only 
the  massive  outer  walls  and  gateways,  and  the  outline  of  a 
strangely  shaped,  almost  pyramidal  gray  tower. 


*  Bikanir  lies  on  the  twenty-eighth  parallel  north  latitude. 


MOTEE  IN   A  NEW   ROLE  229 

At  Blkanir. — A  foot-path  through  sand  and  low  scrub 
led  to  the  bungalow.  It  was  liberally,  not  to  say  palatial- 
ly,  furnished  in  comparison  with  the  average  Indian  hotel. 
A  number  of  glass  doors  opened  from  the  veranda  into  a 
large  common  room,  and  there  were  glass  doors  on  the 
three  other  sides.  The  state  seemed  to  have  furnished  its 
guest-house  as  if  to  attract  a  class  of  visitors  accustomed 
to  lavish  profusion  in  the  matter  of  tables  and  chairs,  but 
who  expected  nothing  to  eat,  for  there  was  neither  cook 
nor  khansamah.  Drawn  up  sociably  in  front  of  the  fire- 
place were  two  roomy  lounges,  and  an  ornamental  eau- 
sense  occupied  the  centre  of  the  room.  A  varied  assort- 
ment of  arm-chairs  and  tables  was  scattered  about ;  the 
tall,  gaudily  colored  cut-glass  lamps,  the  table  service,  and 
plated  silver  all  looked  as  if  ordered  without  regard  to 
expense,  while  the  two  sleeping-rooms  also  contained  a 
superabundance  of  furniture.  I  had  neglected  to  provide 
myself  with  letters,  having  decided  to  make  the  trip  only 
at  the  last  moment,  and  if  Motee  had  not  unexpectedly 
proclaimed  his  skill  as  a  cook,  I  should  have  been  ol)liged  to 
wire  down  to  Jodhpore  for  something  to  eat,  or  appeal  to 
the  Resident.  He,  however,  kindly  offered  me  a  letter  to 
the  chief  of  the  Regenc}^  Council,  actually  the  head  of  the 
state  during  the  minority  of  the  Rajah,  who  was  still  a 
school-boy  at  Ajmeer.  The  great  fortress  and  palace  of 
Bikanir  bring  to  mind  the  Arab  proverb  concerning  '"  the 
prince  who  builds  a  palace  and  ruins  a  city,""  for,  as  is 
frequently  the  case  in  Rajpootana,  its  magnitude  is  out  of 
all  proportion  to  the  size  of  the  city  grouped  about  it. 
xVlthough  placed  on  the  same  level  as  the  town,  and  with- 
out the  advantages  of  an  elevated  position,  like  the  castles 
of  Jodhpore  and  Gwalior,  it  is  still  an  imposing  and  mag- 
nificent pile.  Surrounded  by  massive  sloping  walls,  with 
embrasures  for  cannon,  and  entered  by  a  drawbridge  cross- 


230  A  COURTEOUS  OFFICIAL 

ing  a  wide  moat,  and  guarded  by  sentinels,  who  present 
arms  as  the  carriage  rattles  over  it  into  the  gate  between 
two  round  flanking  towers,  it  looks  quite  fit  to  sustain 
a  siege.  Over  the  entrance  rises  a  tall  clock  -  tower, 
and  beyond  are  gates  within  gates,  opening  into  narrow 
courts,  some  of  them  with  whitened  walls,  and  others  dis- 
playing great  frescoes  of  tiger-hunts  or  triumphal  proces- 
sions. At  the  last  gate  two  life-sized  elephants  carved  in 
stone  and  gaudily  painted,  each  with  his  mahout  astride 
of  his  neck,  stood  facing  each  other ;  they  resembled  on 
a  larger  scale  the  painted  toys  sold  in  Bombay  shops. 
Towering  many  stories  above  the  court -yard  rose  the 
fa9ade  of  the  palace,  with  endless  tiers  of  latticed  galleries 
shaded  by  faded  red  curtains.  Hundreds  of  vultures  and 
crows  circled  above,  or  lighted  on  the  pinnacles  and  domes 
which  broke  the  regularity  of  the  sky-line.  The  highest 
point  of  all  was  a  sloping  pyramidal  roof  of  blue  glazed 
tiles.  Passing  through  still  another  gate,  we  found  the 
chief  in  his  office,  protected  by  a  sign  with  the  legend 
"  No  Admittance."  He  was  a  perfect  type  of  the  veteran 
statesman  ;  his  English  was  unimpeachable ;  but  what  I 
remember  most  vividly  at  the  present  moment  was  a  cer- 
tain charm  of  manner  peculiar  to  the  cultured  Oriental. 
When  I  asked  him  about  his  camel  cavalry,  he  rang  a 
little  electric  bell  and  sent  off  a  servant,  who  presently 
reappeared  with  some  superb  photographs  representing 
the  whole  regiment  drawn  up  in  the  desert,  but  in  place 
of  the  steel  veiled  and  armored  bandits  were  stalwart 
troopers  uniformed  and  turbaned  like  her  Majesty's  Sikhs. 
He  presented  me  with  a  hand-book  to  Bikanir  written  by 
himself  in  English,  and,  accompanied  by  a  custodian,  we 
set  out  on  a  tour  of  the  palace.  It  is  highly  improbable 
that  any  European  has  ever  seen  the  whole  of  a  Kajah's 
palace,  unless  it  be  one  that  is  uninhabited,  but  the  number 


PAI.ACK    OK    THK    liAJAII    OK    niKAMU 


232  BEDS  AND   BRIC-A-BRAC 

of  apartments  shown  are  sufficiently  bewildering  to  leave 
only  the  most  confused  impressions,  and  of  this  palace  in 
particular  I  retain  a  distinct  recollection  of  only  two  or 
three  rooms.  There  were  several  janitors,  each  having 
charge  of  a  series  of  apartments  opening  on  a  court — for 
the  most  part  venerable  old  men  decorated  with  huge  yel- 
low caste-marks  on  their  foreheads,  and  each  carried,  de- 
pending from  a  ring  at  his  girdle,  a  great  bunch  of  long 
steel  slips  curiously  notched,  with  which  he  opened  succes- 
sive doors  quite  as  if  he  were  performing  a  religious  cere- 
mony of  great  solemnity.  Opening  on  to  the  highest  ter- 
race of  all  there  were  two  salons  or  sleeping-rooms,  for 
there  were  beds  in  both,  which  were  curiously  interesting 
on  account  of  the  piquant  blending  of  Eastern  art  with  the 
products  of  Western  taste.  Both  rooms  were  lighted  from 
a  narrow  exterior  gallery,  which  seemed  almost  to  overhang 
the  boundless  red  desert,  and  the  sunshine  which  filtered 
through  stained  glass,  filling  the  interstices  of  the  lattice- 
Avork,  fell  on  the  minutely  painted  walls  of  the  gallery 
and  inlaid  ivory  doors  of  the  inner  room.  Flowery  but 
faded  European  carpets  covered  the  floors  within,  and  the 
furniture,  mahogany  and  brass  and  rose-colored  damask, 
had  the  stamp  of  the  First  Empire.  In  one  corner  stood 
a  bedstead  with  silver  legs  of  Indian  design  ;  but  what 
gave  to  the  place  its  peculiar  cachet  was  its  collection  of 
exotic  curiosities  grouped  on  the  tables,  and  carefully  pro- 
tected by  glass  globes.  There  was  a  ship  under  full  sail 
tossing  on  a  stormy  sea  of  green  glass,  a  swallow  em- 
balmed among  gilt  flowers,  and  a  leathery  and  hairless 
stuffed  cat  playing  on  a  harp.  There  was  also  an  abun- 
dance of  clocks,  one  of  the  familiar  Connecticut  brand 
with  pointed  apex,  but  with  one  of  its  pinnacles  missing, 
and  another  clock  placed  in  the  broad  stomacli  of  a 
very  jovial  sailor. 


SHOP  STUFF 


233 


In  the  new  section  of  the  palace  the  court-yard  just 
above  the  great  outer  keep  is  still  unfinished,  and  the 
arcades,  richly  sculptured  in  relief,  although  certainly  not 
Indian  in  design,  are  strangely  original  and  not  unpleas- 
ing.  We  entered  from  this  court  the  new  series  of  apart- 
ments which  had  been  furnished  apparently  by  a  London 
upholsterer,  New  and  smart  furniture  in  unimpeachable 
London  taste  filled  the  great  drawing-room,  and  there 
were  hanging  -  shelves  and  etageres  which  might  have 
come  from  Maple's.  A  large  photograph  of  the  Queen- 
Empress  was  displayed  on  a  table,  and  the  carpets  alone 
had  a  taint  of  the  East.  They  were  made  in  the  Bikanir 
jail,  woven  from  ancient  Persian  designs,  following  the 
original  models  with  absolute  fidelity  both  in  color  and 
pattern,  and  were  shaped  to  fit  each  nook  and  recessed 


MARKETPLACK,    BIKANIR 


234  ALL  SORTS 

window.  The  vast  palace-yard,  beyond  the  elephant  gate, 
seemed  to  be  the  centre  of  life,  and  was  never  quiet  at  any 
hour  of  the  day.  Groups  of  servants,  soldiers,  and  retain- 
ers were  continually  passing  in  and  out,  while  here  and 
there  a  little  knot  of  men,  liveried  in  scarlet  and  yellow 
or  in  white,  squatted  on  their  heels  around  the  bubbling 
hookah,  and  each  group  formed  the  nucleus  of  a  changing 
crowd ;  for  all  appeared  to  have  abundance  of  leisure,  and 
each  loiterer  stopped  to  gossip  a  moment  as  he  passed 
through  the  court.  At  times  there  was  a  wild  outburst 
of  barking  from  the  swarm  of  pariah  dogs  and  puppies  in 
all  stages  of  growth  which  were  scattered  about  the 
place  ;  countless  pigeons,  kites,  buzzards,  crows,  and  vul- 
tures were  ceaselessly  wiiirling  about,  or  settling  on  the 
projecting  cornices  of  the  palace,  and  filling  the  air  with 
the  noise  of  their  wings,  their  shrill  screams,  and  never- 
ending  clamor.  Just  before  noon  a  burst  of  barbaric 
music  was  added  by  way  of  interlude  to  this  intermittent 
concert,  preceded  by  a  prolonged  and  ear-piercing  blow- 
ing of  horns  and  trumpets ;  towards  sunset  a  service  of 
some  kind  was  celebrated  by  the  orange-robed  priests  of 
the  little  temple,  accompanied  by  a  harmonious  and  dis- 
tant chanting  of  boyish  voices.  Three  great  elephants 
drawn  up  in  line  awaited  us  on  our  return  to  the  bungalow, 
and  the  scarlet  of  their  robes  burned  like  a  flame  against 
the  green  foliage.  They  had  been  trained  to  raise  their 
trunks  and  bellow  forth  a  most  effective  salute. 

The  streets  of  the  town — and  particularly  the  ornate 
little  houses  carved  in  red  sandstone — while  they  have 
a  general  resemblance  to  those  of  Jodhpore,  have  yet  a 
distinct  local  character.  It  would  seem  as  if  the  citizens 
had  built  their  houses  of  sand,  and  had  caused  the  desert 
to  bloom,  as  it  were,  into  this  florid  efflorescence  of  deli- 
cate arabesques  and  fanciful  sculptured  ornaments,  for  all 


STREKT    IX    BIKANIR 


236  WALL  PAINTINGS 

is  of  the  same  color  and  texture  as  the  sand  of  the  streets. 
An  equally  strange  and  persistent  impression  remained 
that  the  houses  of  this  remote  capital  had  a  certain  affin- 
ity with  our  own,  as  if  some  appreciative  native  had  re- 
cently visited  America  and  had  brought  back  with  him 
the  idea  of  the  artistic  little  homes  of  Boston  or  Philadel- 
phia, and  had  been  particularly  struck  with  the  deeply 
recessed  front  door  and  the  steps  leading  up  to  it.  Upon 
this  fundamental  idea  he  had  engrafted  the  elaborate 
surface  decoration  of  Hindoo  artisans,  and  had  thrown 
out  his  bay-windows  on  the  story  above. 

Although  many  of  them  may  be  of  ancient  date,  a  still 
greater  number  have  been  recently  built,  and  indicate  a 
certain  degree  of  financial  prosperity  ;  and  yet,  as  at 
Oudeypore,  there  seem  to  be  few  if  any  manufactures, 
and  but  little  commerce  with  the  world  beyond  the  sands. 
Vacant  wall  spaces,  as  elsewhere,  are  often  stuccoed  and 
made  interesting  by  frescoes  representing  the  usual  ram- 
pant elephants  and  tiger-hunts.  One  frequently  recurring 
theme,  which  shows,  in  spite  of  what  the  Eajpoot  nobility 
may  secretly  believe,  that  we  are  all  of  the  same  Aryan 
stock,  represents  a  sort  of  Koah's  ark  riding  on  a  stormy 
sea  of  the  deepest  indigo ;  on  the  hurricane-deck  are  stiff- 
ly seated  'a  company  of  Bikanir  gentlemen,  complacently 
looking  down  at  the  unfortunate  beings  of  lower  castes 
Avho  are  vainly  struggling  with  the  waves.  The  people 
have  a  way  of  keeping  what  at  first  sight  appear  to  be 
their  dining-tables  in  front  of  their  houses  or  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  street  when  not  in  use,  and  congregating  there- 
on for  purposes  of  social  intercourse  and  for  playing  lit- 
tle games  Avhich  resemble  chess.  These  tables,  or  rather 
lounging  places  —  which  also  serve  as  refuges  for  street 
dogs  in  the  heat  of  the  day,  who  shelter  themselves  in 
their  shadow — are  solidly  supported  on  turned  legs  like 


CORRUGATED   WAKE  237 

pillars,  and  are  capable  of  holding  up  a  number  of  peo- 
ple ;  they  are  substantial  enough  to  resist  the  onsets  of 
galloping  heifers,  which  use  the  street  as  a  play-ground, 
and  are  not  to  be  kicked  over  by  every  passing  stray 
camel. 

The  "  corrugated  iron  age  "  has  already  dawned  upon 
this  city,  remote  as  it  is  from  all  centres  of  culture.  One 
or  two  little  kiosks  of  this  cheap  but  inconceivably  ugly 
material  have  already  made  their  appearance  in  the  pal- 
ace -  grounds,  and  foreshadow  in  a  sadly  prophetic  way 
the  architectural  future  of  India.  But  as  yet  they  have 
not  begun  to  cover  the  verandas  of  whole  bazaars  with 
corrugated  iron  roofing,  as  at  Alwar  and  Delhi.  Every 
cheap  reproduction  of  conventional  ornamental  forms 
which  can  be  cast  in  metal  and  multiplied  to  infinity 
has  a  baleful  fascination  for  the  average  native  mind, 
always  quick  to  seize  upon  any  new  evidence  of  prog- 
ress. These  isolated  signs  of  Western  influence  are  rare, 
however,  and  as  one  follows  the  narrow  foot-patli  along 
the  battlemented  walls  of  the  city  there  is  nothing  to 
arrest  the  eye  in  all  the  expanse  of  sand  which  sur- 
rounds it,  and  which  seems  as  limitless  as  the  Sahara 
itself. 

VI 

Jeypore  is,  of  all  others,  the  city  which  is  sliown  to 
strangers  .as  an  example  of  prosperous  native  rule.  It 
has  two  hotels,  a  college,  a  church  (which,  according  to 
IVIurray,  is  an  architectural  gem),  a  hospital,  a  school  of 
arts,  and  a  "  ]\[edical  Hall,"  which,  in  the  vernacular,  is 
the  title  applied  by  the  ambitious  native  apothecary  to 
his  place  of  business.  The  hotel  to  which  we  were  con- 
signed was  so  far  from  the  city  that,  rather  than  wait  for 
a  carriage,  we  set  out  on  foot  to  discover  it  for  ourselves. 


238  FASHIONS   IN   BEARDS 

In  the  red  haze  of  the  winter  morning  the  shrouded 
figures,  closely  shawled  and  wrapped  in  wadded  coverlets, 
hurrying  along  the  sandy  road  under  the  continuous  arch 
of  trees,  appeared  to  feel  the  cold  keenly,  and  so  many  of 
them  had  their  jaws  bound  up  in  handkerchiefs  that  we 
could  not  but  ask  if  neuralgic  toothache  had  taken  an 
epidemic  form  in  Jeypore ;  another  delusion  was  dis- 
pelled when  we  were  informed  that  it  was  only  their 
way  of  training  their  beards  to  branch  out  horizontally 
in  the  Rajpoot  manner,  for  we  had,  in  our  ignorance,  as- 
cribed this  local  fashion  to  some  physiological  peculiarity 
of  the  race. 

There  was  a  hut  by  the  road-side  where  two  or  three 
lynxes  dwelt  in  the  company  of  their  keeper ;  these  ani- 
mals were  being  educated  for  hunting  purposes,  and  one 
of  them,  apparently  recovering  from  an  indisposition,  was 
lying,  wrapped  in  a  wadded  blanket,  on  a  bed  in  front  of 
the  door,  and  when  we  returned,  in  the  heat  of  the  day,  his 
keeper  was  fanning  him  with  tender  solicitude. 

The  main  avenues  of  Jeypore  cross  each  other  at  right 
angles,  forming  at  their  intersections  large  and  impos- 
ing squares,  where  are  fountains  or  tanks.  Around  these 
centres  temples  and  palaces  are  grouped,  and  the  broad 
avenues  seem  to  vanish  in  perspective.  Inasmuch  as  the 
idea  still  prevails  on  the  Continent  that  all  this  country  is 
quite  on  a  par  with  the  Congo  Valley,  it  is  interesting  to 
know  that  these  boulevards,  well  kept  and  lighted  at  night, 
existed  a  hundred  years  before  such  avenues  were  dreamed 
of  in  Europe.  Upon  a  closer  inspection  of  the  regular  and 
continuous  facades  which  line  them,  houses,  temples,  and 
palaces  alike  look  strangely  thin  and  unstable,  like  the 
work  of  a  scene  ■  painter,  and  when  a  door  is  opened  or 
shut  one  almost  expects  to  see  the  whole  fabric  shake  and 
quiver,  or  to  see  it  rolled  back  to  disclose  something  more 


FEEDING    THE    SACRKD    PIGKONS,  JEYTORE 


'-vtCS.:., 


wonderful  behind.  This  appearance  of  unreality  is  due 
to  the  fact  that  the  fronts  of  all  these  edifices  are  roughly 
stuccoed  and  washed  with  a  pale  pink  tone,  on  which  are 
rudely  frescoed  white  lines  and  uncertain  arabesques,  and 
they  have,  to  a  degree,  the  effect  of  carelessly  painted  can- 
vas. But  they  are,  notwithstanding,  built  of  stone,  and 
often  mask  really  beautiful  doorways  and  court-yards  of 


240  ZOOLOGICAL  TOWN 

white  marble.  An  hour  or  so  before  sunset  all  this  quar- 
ter is  crowded  with  idlers ;  with  itinerant  merchants  and 
hucksters,  who  display  their  wares  on  the  ground  or  in  lit- 
tle booths  under  the  great  trees ;  with  daintily  barbered 
and  immaculate  court  nobles,  and  others  who  pass  in  car- 
riages followed  by  mounted  dragoons ;  great  elephants 
robed  in  scarlet,  each  with  a  clanging  bell  hanging  on  one 
side  to  warn  the  riders  of  timid  horses,  pass  slowly  through 
the  crowd  ;  and  well-groomed  white  or  piebald  horses,  their 
necks  maintained  at  the  requisite  curve  by  an  embroidered 
scarf  in  lieu  of  check-rein,  are  also  walked  out  for  exercise. 
Here,  too,  may  be  seen  lynxes  and  blindfolded  cheetahs* 
taking  the  air,  and  held  in  leash  by  their  keepers ;  and  at 
times  myriads  of  pigeons,  which  are  daily  fed  by  the  fakirs 
and  maintained  at  the  public  expense,  cover  the  ground 
like  a  blue  carpet,  or  rise  up  with  a  deafening  whir  of 
wings.  One  thinks  at  once  of  the  pigeons  of  St.  Mark's, 
but  their  numbers  are  far  greater.  One  of  the  most  at- 
tractive resorts  of  Jeypore  is  the  great  public  garden,  con- 
taining an  aviary  and  a  handsome  modern  palace  or  two, 
which,  as  a  piece  of  artistic  landscape-gardening,  would  be 
remarkable  in  any  city.  When  we  drove  out  from  the 
town  to  visit  the  ancient  capital  and  palace  of  Amber,  de- 
serted by  Jey  Singh  in  1728  for  the  more  modern  town 
of  Jeypore,  our  way  lay  through  a  suburb  of  ruined  and 
mouldering  palaces,  tombs,  and  garden  -  houses,  half  hid- 
den among  great  trees  and  thickets  of  rank  undergrowth, 
where  colonies  of  peacocks  strutted  along  the  weed-grown 
and  blackened  walls,  and  added  their  harsh  screams  to  the 
shrill  cries  of  the  countless  green  parrots. 

At  a  point  of  the  road  where  it  became  too  steep  for 
the  carriage  we  found  an  elephant  Avaiting  for  us,  and  the 

*The  hunting-leopard  of  India. 


AN   ILLUSION 


241 


slow  majesty  of  his  progress  upward  through  a  wild  and 
rocky  landscape  seemed  to  aid  and  give  a  touch  of  reality 
to  the  impression  that  we  were  leaving  tlie  present  and 
going  backward  into  the  past.  Few  landscapes  in  India 
are  more  striking  than  the  spot  where  one  first  comes  in 
sight  of  the  palace,  rising  against  a  barren  ridge,  and  re- 
peated in  every  detail  in  the  glassy  lake  below,  wliich  is 


CHKKTAII    ANn    KKKPER,  JKYPORE 


242  THE  AMBER  PALACE 

bordered  by  gardens  with  terraces  and  kiosks  of  red  stone. 
The  deserted  city,  lying  qlong  the  gorge  at  the  foot  of  the 
cliffs,  does  not  give  one  so  much  the  impression  of  a  once 
populous  capital  that  has  been  abandoned  forever  as  of  a 
place  where  the  people  had  fallen  asleep,  and  one  would 
not  be  at  all  surprised  to  see  them  pour  out  from  the 
house  doors  in  the  "painted  streets"  and  throng  the 
empty  bazaars  and  temple  courts,  or  to  hear  again  the 
din  of  metal-workers  in  the  silent  shops.  But  the  palace, 
to  which  we  mount  by  a  narrow  and  winding  path  hewn 
in  the  rock,  is  still  occupied  from  time  to  time  as  a  royal 
residence,  and  is  guarded  by  a  few  retainers,  and  as  we 
ascend  we  meet  some  of  them,  armed  with  swords  and 
leather  bucklers.  The  upper  or  grand  court -yard  of 
Amber  combines  such  wealth  of  artistic  decoration,  and 
is  placed  in  such  a  marvellous  setting  of  landscape,  that 
one  instinctively  wonders  whether  such  combinations, 
which  occur  so  often  in  India,  can  be  due  to  happy  acci- 
dent, or  whether  the  builders  had  cunningly  taken  advan- 
tage of  every  favoring  circumstance  of  nature.  To  admit 
the  latter  hypothesis  would  be  to  acknowledge  once  and 
forever  their  artistic  supremacy,  and  it  is  easier  to  main- 
tain that  they  "builded  better  than  they  knew."  The 
great  gateway  of  the  palace,  elaborately  painted  with  con- 
ventional designs,  relieved  by  white  marble  and  plaques 
of  alabaster  inlaid  with  symbolic  figures  in  enamel  and 
gold,  and  lightened  by  panels  and  transparent  screens  of 
red  stone,  showing  the  blue  of  the  sky  behind,  has  the 
rich  tone  of  a  faded  cashmere  shawl.  As  we  stand  in 
front  of  it  an  open,  many-pillared  hall  rises  on  our  left, 
with  heavy  sculptured  brackets  adorning  the  capitals. 
This  entire  edifice  is  covered  with  white  chunar,  which 
has  been  scraped  away  from  one  column,  revealing  the 
highly  polished  porphyry   beneath.     When   one  stands 


A   FRIENDLY   SONGSTER 


243 


flitting 
in  and  out  through 


at  the  parapet  near  by  and  looks  down,  the  eye  ranges 
over  the  lower  court -j^ard  just  below,  over  the  white 
walls  and  crenellated  towers  of  the  outer  keep,  to  the  lit- 
tle lake  sleeping  at  the  bottom  of  the  ravine,  and  across  it 
to  the  wooded  and  rocky  range  of  hills;  and  through  a 
gap  in  these  hills  other  ranges  appear,  and  beyond  them 
the  cloud -flecked 
rolling  uplands 
and  the  summer 
clouds.  Many 
birds  are 
in  and  out 
the  arcades,  pig- 
eons are  cooing, 
and  the  flocks  of 
sleek  green  par- 
rots keep  up  a  con- 
tinual screaming 
and  bickering. 
There  was  a  table 
in  the  centre  of 
the  pillared  hall, 
where  we  were 
accustomed  to 
lunch  among  these 
feathered  intrud- 
ers. The  most  per- 
sistently   familiar 

of  all  was  a  small  sono^ster  resemblino:  a  nio-htino-ale,  which 
sat  quietly  on  the  back  of  a  chair,  and  when  encouraged  by 
our  tranquillity  would  walk  about  the  table  and  help  him- 
self to  the  crumbs.  In  the  innermost  court,  in  the  shadow 
of  a  white  marble  pavilion  shaded  by  red  curtains,  one  or 
two  men  and  boys  armed  with  bows  dozed  through  the 


^^^^^^K', 

^^^^^K     ^ 

^*-*-^,::- 

W.               "'\ 

Hi^^ 

^^^Mj,   , 

^^E     ../^H 

^wfe' '  ■  ''''mk-  -  ^'  .=.M^^ 

^^HBSP^dl^i 

n^KS!' ' ''^Jhb  'Jj^^^- 

^H^JP 

M^^B^Ry 

^^KMrnrJ 

^ W^"     •^v  ^;  v 

^Sr 

^    1 ' 

B»          •■^/T 

\ 

|t% 

-A^^/yi,, 

1^^ 

J-^M^ 

ELEPHANT  S  HEAD,  JEYPORE 


244  TETHERED  WITH  A  STRLNG 

heat  of  the  day,  and  in  their  waking  moments  exercised 
their  calling  of  firing  ineffectual  arrows  at  the  screaming 
parrots  on  the  mango-trees.  Down  in  the  lower  court  just 
below  the  parapet  was  tethered  the  old  elephant  who  had 
transported  us  up  here  on  his  capacious  back,  and  who 
seemed  to  bore  himself  in  spite  of  the  beauty  of  his  sur- 
roundings. Ilis  keeper  had  led  him  into  a  small  yard  en- 
closed by  rough  walls,  and  after  taking  off  his  howdah  and 
coverings,  had  lain  down  to  doze  in  a  shady  corner.  Before 
going  to  sleep  he  had  23rudently  tied  a  cord  around  the 
elephant's  fore- foot,  and  had  attached  the  other  end  to  a 
peg  between  his  own  feet ;  the  cord  was  probably  intend- 
ed as  a  slight  moral  restraint.  The  great  brute  was  quiet 
enough  for  a  time,  rocking  gently  from  side  to  side,  and 
at  last,  from  sheer  w^ant  of  occupation,  he  began  to  scrape 
together  with  his  trunk  and  one  ponderous  fore -foot  a 
quantity  of  loose,  dry  grass,  until  he  had  collected  a  mouth- 
ful ;  when  the  supply  at  hand  was  exhausted  he  began  to 
feel  in  the  crevices  of  the  wall  with  the  tip  of  his  trunk 
to  see  if  perchance  anything  eatable  had  been  left  there ; 
discovering  a  small  earthen  pot,  he  carefully  investigated 
the  interior,  but  smashed  it  against  the  wall  in  disgust  at 
finding  it  empty.  Overcome  with  ennui  at  last,  he 
moved  slowly  and  stealthily  towards  the  exit,  keeping  one 
eye  on  his  master,  and  taking  great  care  not  to  awaken 
him ;  but  the  sleeper  was  roused  by  the  gradual  slipping 
of  the  cord  over  his  foot,  and  his  charge,  like  a  great 
baby,  was  led  back  in  disgrace  and  soundly  chastised  with 
a  broomstick.  Ilis  last  resource  was  to  shoot  showers  of 
dust  and  gravel  over  his  back,  so  that  it  took  his  keeper  a 
full  half-hour  to  sweep  him  clean. 

Amber,  with  its  garden  courts,  its  fountains  and  rills 
of  clear  water  rippling  through  channels  of  inlaid  marble, 
its  secluded  chambers  and  halls  adorned  with  gilding  and 


COURT    or    TlIK    I'AI-ACE    OK    AMBKK,   JEYPOKK 


246  A   STRIKING   LANDMARK 

Persian  mirror-work,  or  with  panels  of  white  marble  on 
which  are  sculptured  the  rose  and  the  lotus,  the  doors  of 
sandal  wood  and  ivory,  the  vignettes  of  lovely  mountain 
landscape  seen  through  the  lace-work  of  the  window-lat- 
tices, and,  above  all,  the  sentiment  of  repose,  and  remote- 
ness from  the  work-a-day  world  of  coal  and  iron,  seems 
a  perfect  parallel  to  the  Alhambra,  and  completely  era- 
bodies  the  Arabian  idea  of  a  kingly  retreat. 


VII 

Our  impressions  of  the  marvels  of  Rajpootana  would  be 
incomplete  without  at  least  a  brief  reference  to  Gwalior 
and  the  fortress  of  Scindia.  Shattered,  ruinous,  and  rapid- 
ly falling  into  decay,  it  still  remains  a  striking  landmark, 
and  a  unique  monument  ev^en  in  India  —  unique,  for  al- 
though there  is  something  in  the  bizarre  forms  of  its 
architecture  akin  to  the  early  Persian  palaces  at  Per- 
sepolis  and  elsewhere,  as  well  as  to  the  later  edifices  in 
Toorkistan,  it  bears  the  stamp  of  complete  originality,  as 
if  its  builders  had  been  allowed  to  work  out  their  own 
conception  unhindered.  I  refer  more  specifically  to  the 
older  portion,  called  the  palace  of  Man  Mandi.*  Its  long 
line  of  round  sloping  towers,  capped  with  broad-rimmed 
cupolas,  overtops  the  rocky  ridge  which  rises  straight  from 
the  plain,  and  the  whole  fayade,  within  and  without,  is 


*FergusBon  says:  "  Of  those  buildings  which  so  excited  the  admiration 
of  the  Emperor  Baber,  probably  little  now  remains.  The  Moslems  added 
to  the  palaces  of  the  Hindoos,  and  spared  their  temples  and  the  statues 
of  the  Jains.  We  have  ruthlessly  set  to  work  to  destroy  whatever  in- 
terferes with  our  convenience,  and  during  the  few  years  we  have  oc- 
cupied the  fort  have  probably  done  more  to  disfigure  its  beauties  and 
obliterate  its  memories  than  was  caused  by  the  Moslems  during  the  cen- 
turies they  possessed  or  occupied  it." 


decorated  with  bands 
and  panels  of  brilliant 
enamelled  bricks,  blue 
and  green  and  vivid  yel- 
low, varied  with  courses 
of  sculptured  stone- work. 
When  the  Emperor  Baba 
saw  it  in  1537,  the  domes 
were  covered  with  gilded 
copper,  and  the  whole 
vast  fabric  must  then 
have  been  a  blaze  of  col- 
or. One  amusing  feature  is  a  band  or  ribbon  of  rich  blue 
faience  extending  entirely  round  the  fayade,  on  which  is 
a  line  of  yellow  ducks ;  at  one  point  only,  where  a  mon- 
key is  chasing  one  of  them,  the  movements  of  these 
ducks  depart  a  little  from  the  conventionalized  stiff- 
ness of  the  others.  AVithin  the  fortress  walls  are  tem- 
ples of  earlier  date,  and  there  are  two  exquisite  little 
courts  in  the  palace,  so  original  in  design  that  it  would 
puzzle  an  architect  to  classify  them ;  and  just  outside  the 
western  gate  are  colossal  statues  of  gods  wrought  in  the 
face  of  the  yellow  cliff,  like  those  at  Abou-Simbel.     This 


PALACE    OF   THE    MAHARAJAH    OK    GWALIOK, 
SCISDIA 


248  MODERN   AND  ANTIQUE  TRAPS 

fortress  has  long  been  the  stronghold  of  the  Mahratta 
rulers  of  the  line  of  Scindia,  and  at  the  time  of  the  Mu- 
tiny was  occupied  by  the  English,  who  have  recently  re- 
stored it  to  its  original  owners.  Each  race  has  left  traces 
of  its  occupancy,  and  during  the  English  regime  many 
modern  improvements  were  effected ;  ruinous  palaces  were 
fitted  up  as  mess-rooms  and  officers'  quarters,  and  as  Cun- 
ningham says,  "  a  lot  of  antiquarian  rubbish  was  cleared 
away  to  make  a  parade-ground." 

The  ancient  city  of  Gwalior  lies  at  the  foot  of  the  hill, 
but  the  new  town,  where  the  modern  palace  is  situated,  is 
some  distance  away — nearly  an  hour's  drive,  in  fact,  over 
circuitous  roads.  Near  the  palace  are  several  walled  and 
arcaded  enclosures  of  great  extent,  where  hundreds  of 
horses  are  kept,  belonging  to  the  Maharajah,  who  is  still 
a  minor;  and  in  a  similar  place  are  the  royal  carriages, 
]^othing  could  give  a  better  idea  of  the  scale  on  which 
such  establishments  are  maintained  than  the  number  and 
variety  of  these  equipages,  many  of  them  built  by  noted 
London  or  Paris  firms.  There  are  broughams  or  coupes, 
landaus,  dog-carts,  traps  of  all  sorts,  mail -phaetons  and 
mail-coaches,  victorias  and  double-seated  "  beach-wagons," 
and,  to  complete  the  catalogue,  a  regulation  Paris  omni- 
bus, with  "  imperiale." 

A  royal  household,  in  order  to  keep  up  to  the  times, 
must  include  every  article  of  luxury  appertaining  to  Euro- 
pean royalty,  as  well  as  the  whole  antique  "  kit "  and  pict- 
uresque lumber,  palanquins,  howdahs,  and  state  chariots, 
which  have  come  down  to  it  from  ancient  days. 


OUDEYPORE,  THE  CITY  OF  THE  SUNRISE 

I 

The  little  station  at  Chitor,  asleep  in  the  noonda}'' 
glare,  seemed  more  akin  to  a  caravansary  in  the  desert 
than  to  the  noisy  and  bustling  railway  centres  farther  up 
the  line.  Only  the  station-master,  whom  it  is  correct  to 
address  as  baboo,  whether  he  may  have  any  right  to  that 
title  or  not,  and  whose  brown,  spectacled  visage  was  sur- 
mounted b}'^  a  black  velvet  cap,  the  telegraph  clerk,  clad 
in  a  long  white  cotton  garment,  and  the  sepo}"  on  guard 
at  the  freight-house,  were  present  at  our  arrival.  Across 
the  railway  track,  which  still  rang  with  the  reverbera- 
tion of  the  departed  train,  arose,  some  distance  away,  a 
long  wooded  and  bushy  ridge,  crowned  with  the  lev^el  line 
of  gray  walls  and  towers  of  Chitor,  the  ancient  capital  of 
Mey  war.  The  slender  silhouettes  of  the  two  towers  of  Vic- 
tory, which  alone  rose  above  the  level  sky-line,  were  so  far 
off  that  one  could  only  divine  their  exquisite  sculpture  by 
the  irregularity  of  their  outlines. 

From  the  platform  of  the  station  only  three  other 
buildinofs  were  visible  in  all  the  vast  and  undulatinti:  half- 
desert  landscape  which  stretches  away  westward  to  the 
line  of  purple  hills  in  the  direction  of  Oudeyjiore,  seventy- 
two  miles  away.  I  had  expected  to  find  a  letter  or  tele- 
gram from  that  city,  with  some  information  as  to  means 
of  convevance,  not  bavins:  then  learned  that  telegrams  or 
other  messages  had  to  be  sent  by  "diik  post,"  or  by  special 


250  A  COMPLIMENTAKY   CONVEYANCE 

runners,  in  the  absence  of  either  telegraph  or  railway  con- 
necting the  "Rajpootana-Malwa  line  with  the  remote  cap- 
ital. 

The  baboo  in  charge  of  the  station  said  that  nothing 
had  been  received ;  and  having  directed  Motee  to  find 
some  coolies  and  follow  on  with  the  luggage  convoy,  I 
wandered  off  along  the  sandy  track  in  the  direction  of 
the  dak  bungalow,  the  last  of  the  three  buildings  seen 
from  the  platform.  Although  it  was  the  middle  of  Jan- 
uary, the  noonday  sun,  slightly  veiled  by  haze,  and  with 
the  addition  of  the  reflected  glare  from  the  sandy  and 
weedy  waste  about  us,  already  began  to  be  somewhat  op- 
pressive. The  question  of  transport  was  speedily  solved  by 
meeting  half-way  to  the  bungalow  an  old  and  battered 
victoria,  with  a  pair  of  brisk  horses,  a  turbaned  driver, 
and  "  syce."  Upon  the  arrival  of  Motee  with  the  coolies 
they  deposited  the  luggage  by  the  road  -  side,  and  we 
plunged  at  once  into  an  animated  discussion  with  the 
driver  as  to  the  price  and  other  preliminaries,  for,  as  I 
had  supposed,  the  conveyance  belonged  to  the  Maharana 
of  Oudeypore.  Just  as  we  had  come  to  an  understanding 
about  the  price,  the  opportune  arrival  of  the  postmaster 
with  a  telegram  (brought  by  a  runner),  to  the  effect  that 
the  carriage  had  been  sent  for  us,  and  that  there  was 
nothing  to  pay,  settled  the  matter  at  once.  An  elabo- 
rate "  tiffin  "  is  not  to  be  had  in  a  dak  bungalow  at  short 
notice,  and  we  were  only  too  glad  to  find  the  usual  bill 
of  fare,  "  sudden  death  "  (which  title  refers  to  the  un- 
timely end  of  the  chicken  which  had  been  alive  when 
we  reached  the  house),  bread,  potatoes,  and  jam,  with 
whiskey  and  tepid  soda.  When  the  horses  had  been  fed, 
and  the  baggage  piled  into  the  vehicle  and  corded  to- 
gether, leaving  barely  space  on  the  back  seat  to  accom- 
modate the  writer  and  the  tiffin  basket,  we  drove  briskly 


A   MAIL-CARRIER 


251 


off  in  the  teeth  of  a  strong  south  wind  and  in  the  glare  of 
the  afternoon  sun,  over  rolling  uplands,  towards  the  hazy 
line  of  far-off  hills.     There  were  spots  of  rich  cultivation 
at  intervals,  with  clumps  of  wild  date-palms,  and  dense, 
wide-spreading  banyans,  sheltering  the  rare  villages  and 
w^ay  -  side  shrines ;    ei- 
ther a  tank  or  a  pool 
of  water  at  these  oases 
invariably    reflected   a 
patch  of  amber- tinted 
w^estern  sky  beyond  the 
dark   trees.      At   each 
village    we    chano^ed 
horses,  which  gave  one 
an  opportunity  of  walk- 
ing on  in  advance — al- 
ways a  relief  after  the 
cramped  confinement 
of  the  carriage. 

Groups  of  camels 
wiiich  were  browsing 
among  the  sparse  un- 
dergrowth by  the  road- 
side ambled  clumsily  aw^ay  at  our  approach,  and  we  often 
met  whole  families  of  villagers  toiling  along  the  dusty 
track  in  tented  bullock-carts. 

Somewhere  along  the  road  the  mail-carrier,  that  mediae- 
val ancestor  of  the  modern  postman,  met  us  on  his  way 
from  Oudeypore.  He  carried  his  small  letter -bag  sus- 
pended from  a  lacquered  stick,  on  the  end  of  which  hung 
a  little  cluster  of  bells,  and  he  was  preceded  l)y  his  ]ir(> 
tector,  a  wiry  youth,  armed  with  a  drawn  scimitar.  There 
is  but  little  danger,  however,  to  be  feared  on  this  road, 
most  of  the  tigers  having  been  slain  by  the  royal  sports- 


.MAIL-CARRIER    A.ND    GUARD 


252  A  CHILLY   RIDE 

men,  and  there  are  no  brigands,  so  that  one  may  travel 
alone  more  safely  here  than  in  Europe,  and  the  scimitar 
is  only  an  emblem  of  authority. 

When  the  burning  after-glow  had  deepened  into  twi- 
light, it  became  impossible  to  resist  the  feeling  of  drowsi- 
ness engendered  by  the  strong  dry  wind  and  the  monoto- 
nous movement  of  the  carriage,  in  spite  of  the  increasing 
chill  of  the  night  air. 

At  midnight  1  was  awakened,  either  by  the  cold  or  by 
the  sudden  cessation  of  motion.  Behind  the  carriage  the 
men,  wrapped  in  their  frieze  ulsters,  such  as  are  worn  by 
the  sepoy  infantry,  were  squatting  over  a  blazing  fire  of 
dry  leaves,  which  quickly  smouldered  as  the  supply  was 
exhausted,  and  again  flashed  up  fitfull}'^  with  each  armful 
of  the  damp,  earthy-smelling  fuel,  suddenly  revealing  the 
grotesque  sculpture  and  pillared  porticoes  of  a  little  group 
of  half -ruined  temples.  It  was  quite  cold — 40°  Fahr.  at 
least.  We  reached  at  last  a  gap  in  a  line  of  hills,  which 
might  have  been  of  any  height  in  the  darkness,  and  halted 
at  a  towering  gateway.  The  huge  doors,  which  swung 
open,  moved  by  invisible  warders,  were  studded  with  long 
iron  spikes  and  hooks,  which  have  survived  from  the  days 
when  fortress  gates  -were  so  protected  as  a  defence  against 
the  battering  power  of  mailed  elephants.  On  either  side 
of  flanking  towers  high  crenellated  walls  climbed  the  hills 
and  disappeared  in  the  gloom.  There  were  still  nine  miles 
before  us,  but  the  thickening  trees  and  temple  spires 
showed  that  we  were  nearing  the  capital,  and  Anally  we 
drew  up  at  the  dak  bungalow,  and  with  noise  and  clamor- 
aroused  the  sleeping  khansamah. 


THE  APPROACH   TO  A  RESIDENXY  253 


Oudeypore. — Even  the  first  impression  is  agreeable,  and 
has  a  fresh  charm  after  the  monotonous  levels  of  the  Pun- 
jaub,  which  lie  far  enough  to  the  north  to  have  the  chill, 
at  least,  of  a  Northern  Xovember.  From  the  bungalow 
the  ground  slopes  down  on  either  side  into  a  valley  ringed 
about  with  bushy  hills.  Hounded  tree -tops  cut  off  the 
view  here  and  there,  and  little  temples  or  shrines,  some 
black  and  weather-stained,  others  gleaming  white,  nestle 
in  their  shadows.  Upon  arriving  in  a  native  state,  one's 
first  proceeding  is  alwaj's  to  call  on  the  Resident,  and  it 
is  but  a  short  walk  from  the  bungalow  to  the  Residency. 
From  the  entrance,  guarded  by  an  armed  sentinel,  the 
driveway  winds  upward  among  flower  beds,  and  through 
checkered  light  and  shadow, to  a  white  house  which  stands 
on  a  low  hill.  The  tall  columns  of  the  portico  give  it 
something  of  the  character  of  an  Italian  villa,  but  the 
white  domes  of  the  little  pavilions,  or  "  chatris,"  which 
flank  the  terrace  add  the  local  color  of  India :  the  ve- 
randas, half  hidden  by  striped  ''dhurries"  and  awnings, 
are  partly  covered,  like  the  hexagonal  pavilions,  with  great 
masses  of  violet  -  purple  bougainvilleas.  From  the  long 
drawing-room,  which  traverses  the  house,  a  matchless  vista 
is  seen  through  the  open  glass  doors  at  either  end :  through 
one  the  sunshine  streams  in  over  the  gay  parterres  of 
flowers  which  deck  the  terrace ;  and  beyond  the  other 
door,  which  opens  on  to  a  veranda,  answering  the  purpose 
of  a  conservatorv,  there  is  a  delifi^htful  confusion  of  lifjht 
and  color,  of  polished  white  columns,  seen  through  a  tangle 
of  trailing  vines  and  broad  glistening  leaves  of  fan-palms,  of 
scarlet  and  violet  and  orange  blooms,  of  patches  of  sunlit 
lawn  and  jrreat  trees,  and  then  the  towerinsr  white  castel- 


254  A  GUEST  OF  THE   STATE 

lated  palace  of  the  Maharana,  a  mile  away.  On  all  sides 
the  view  is  bounded  by  the  circle  of  lovely  wooded  hills, 
steeped  in  sunshine,  which  shut  in  this  happy  valley  from 
the  busy  world,  and  shut  out  the  telegraph,  the  railway, 
and  the  automatic  distributor. 

Although  I  had  intended  to  take  up  my  quarters  per- 
manently in  the  bungalow,  it  seemed  like  a  bit  of  quite 
superfluous  self-denial  to  decline  the  cordial  hospitality  of 
the  Resident,  which  was  meant  to  be  accepted ;  and  indeed 
my  resolution  to  lead  a  life  of  hermit  -  like  seclusion,  a 
prospect  which  looked  far  less  seductive  from  this  point 
of  view,  was  easily  broken.  At  Oudeypore,  as  at  many 
other  capitals  of  native  states,  everything  seems  to  be  the 
property  of  the  reigning  prince :  there  is  not  a  carriage 
for  hire,  nor  a  boat  on  the  lake  ;  and  if  one  only  desires  to 
stay  a  day  or  two  in  the  travellers'  bungalow,  he  must, 
as  a  matter  of  form,  ask  permission  of  the  state,  which 
will  be  granted  only  through  the  Resident.  But  as  the 
hospitality  of  the  state  is  willingly  extended  to  visitors 
armed  with  proper  credentials,  there  is  usually  no  dif- 
ficulty about  obtaining  conveyances  and  a  place  to  sleep 
in.  One  of  the  first  evidences  that  the  authorities  were 
hospitably  inclined  was  the  arrival  of  a  smart  victoria, 
with  driver  and  syce  in  scarlet  liveries,  all  to  be  kept 
at  the  Residency  during  the  length  of  my  stay. 

Oudeypore  is  a  Avhite  city.  Not  only  the  pavilions, 
kiosks,  and  arcades  which  rise  from  the  shores  of  the 
lake,  but  the  lower  walls  of  the  great  palace,  the  island 
palaces,  and  the  town  itself,  are  positively  dazzling  with 
whitewash. 

A  fellow-countryman  whom  I  met  on  the  road,  whose 
name  is  everywhere  known  as  an  authority  on  Indian  art, 
said  that  he  had  been  greatly  disappointed  in  Oudeypore, 
mainly  because  the  whitewasher's  brush  had  given  it  the 


FORM  AND  COLOR  255 

semblance  of  a  whited  sepulchre.  With  all  deference  to 
his  taste  and  judgment,  I  found  the  prevailing  color  to  be 
rather  agreeable  than  otherwise,  and  to  have  an  enhanced 
value  from  its  setting  of  dark  foliage,  so  often  relieved  by 
brilliant  masses  of  flowering  vines. 

The  whitewash  is  not  used  in  order  to  hide  baseness  of 
material,  for  most  of  the  architecture  is  solidly  built  of 
the  dark  red  sandstone  of  the  country,  purely  Hindoo  in 
st^de,  abounding  in  colonnades  with  dentilated  arches, 
and  with  richly  sculptured  brackets  upholding  the  hor- 
izontal eaves :  white,  with  its  luminous  reflections  and 
cool  shadows,  is  far  more  restful  to  the  eye  than  the  dull 
brick  color  of  the  stone  beneath. 

The  warmer  tone  of  marble,  where  it  appears  in  the 
upper  parts  of  the  palace  and  in  the  inner  courts  of  the 
island  pleasure-houses,  gains  in  value  from  its  rarity.  In 
going  through  the  town  for  the  first  time  one  cannot  fail 
to  be  impressed  by  its  bright  and  generally  attractive 
aspect.  A  drawbridge  across  the  moat  gives  access  to 
the  great  gateway  studded  with  sj)ikes ;  beyond  this  is  a 
court  -  yard  surrounded  by  high  walls  and  guarded  by 
soldiers.  Here  we  enter  the  broad  sandy  road  wdiich 
leads  us  to  the  main  bazaar.  The  continuous  rows  of 
shops  are  sheltered  behind  wide  verandas  and  in  the 
shadow  of  projecting  eaves,  which  are  supported  by 
square  Hindoo  columns,  shaped  like  the  more  ancient 
columns  in  the  temple  of  Chitor,  and  by  sculptured 
brackets  or  consoles.  Behind  these  colonnades  tiiere  is 
an  ever-changing  play  of  reflected  light,  and  the  patches 
of  crude  or  half-effaced  painting  on  the  inner  walls  have 
an  added  value  from  the  warm  white  which  prevails. 
Even  the  costumes  of  the  men  are  of  the  universal  tone, 
varied  by  the  scarlet  and  gold  lace  of  turbans,  and  the 
costumes  of  the  court  retainers,  while  the  embroidered 


256 


WHITEWASHED   ELEPHANTS 


shawls  and  skirts  of  the  women  are  of  every  imaginable 
hue,  so  that  these  brilliant  flashes  of  color  in  the  passing 
crowd,  together  with  the  gaudy  dyes  displayed  around 
the  shop  doors,  toned  by  the  luminous  obscurity  of  the 
shadow,  all  unite  in  producing  an  impression  at  once 
sparkling,  joyous,  and  festal.  A  long  flight  of  steps  leads 
up  to  the  door  of  a  temple,  which  is  guarded  by  two  ele- 
phants with  uplifted  trunks,  carved  in  stone,  and  posted 
one  on  each  side.  From  this  elevated  perch  they  seem 
to  be  saluting  the  living  elephants  as  they  pass  in  the 
street  below,  and,  like  the  temple,  they  too  are  white- 
washed. There  is  another 
temple  farther  on,  where 
the  sculptured  friezes  of 
fighting  elephants,  proba- 
bly reproductions  of  those 
at  Chitor,  retain  the  nat- 
ural tawny  color  of  tlie 
stone.  The  busiest 
corner  of  the  bazaar 


STEPS    OF   THE    TEMPLE 


NATIVE  ART  257 

is  at  the  intersection  of  another  long  street  with  this 
main  artery,  and  here  stands  a  modern  clock-tower  of 
striking  and  original  design,  and  quite  in  harmony  with 
the  architecture  around  it.  Instead  of  keeping  straight 
on  to  the  trifolia  gateway  and  the  precincts  of  the  pal- 
ace, if  we  turn  to  the  right,  where  the  street  ascends  a 
slight  rise,  we  shall  enter  a  quarter  of  handsome  houses, 
many  of  which  belong  to  court  retainers.  There  is  not 
much  exterior  ornament  about  them,  save  for  the  pro- 
jecting brackets  and  latticed  windows,  which  are  not 
as  delicately  wrought  as  in  many  other  cities  of  Raj- 
pootana,  but  the  broad  spaces  of  blank  white  wall  are 
■decorated  with  great  mural  paintings,  wherein  elephants, 
with  much  vigor  of  action,  and  prancing  camels,  some 
of  which  seem  to  be  throwing  their  heads  upward  as  if 
to  incommode  their  riders,  are  depicted  as  large  as  life. 
The  Hindoo  artist  is  not  quite  as  happy  in  rendering  the 
action  of  the  horse ;  and  as  to  his  anatomy,  there  seems 
to  be  a  tacit  agreement  that  much  of  it  is  to  be  left  to 
the  imagination. 

AYhen  I  first  saw  these  frescoes,  or,  rather,  similar  ones 
in  other  cities,  they  seemed  grotesque  and  barbaric,  al- 
though not  lacking  in  a  certain  amount  of  decorative 
force.  Whether  these  examples  were  really  better,  or 
whether,  since  it  has  become  the  fashion  to  borrow  the 
ideas  of  the  earl}'  Primitives  and  to  express  them  in  a 
manner  more  primitive  still  as  to  technique,  we  have 
learned  to  accept  many  things  in  art  which  we  could  not 
have  understood  before,  it  would  be  somewhat  difficult  to 
determine.  But  of  one  thing  I  am  certain,  that  these 
decorations  impressed  me  as  being  much  less  eccentric 
than  at  first,  the  drawing  of  the  prancing  elephants  and 
supercilious  camels  less  exaggerated,  and  the  tigers  as 
more  seriously  fierce:   the  crude  yellow  of  these  tigers 

IT 


seemed  actually  to  harmonize  with  the  great  washes  of 
raw  blue  and  violet  on  the  elephants.  It  may  be  that 
while  these  artists  have  worked  steadily  on  in  the  same 
way  for  ages,  we  have  just  begun  to  appreciate  the  value 
of  simplicity,  and  one  may  easily  believe  that,  with  judi- 
cious initiation  into  the  mysteries  of  the  artistic  "cuisine" 
of  to-day,  many  of  these  village  Giottos  might  tind  them- 
selves quite  "  in  the  movement." 


A  "TRIFOLIA"  259^ 


III 

The  great  white  palace,  which  is  the  key-note  and  the 
dominant  feature  of  the  landscape,  and  which  so  fasci- 
nates the  eye  when  first  seen  in  the  morning  light  rising 
above  the  tree-tops  against  the  background  of  mountains, 
gains  in  interest  as  we  approach  it.  There  is  so  much  of 
it  that  the  eye  cannot  grasp  it  all  at  once,  but  is  first 
bewildered  by  its  vast  extent,  and  then  confused  by  the 
multitude  of  interesting  details,  and  not  until  one  has 
seen  it  from  the  lake  or  from  one  of  the  island  palaces 
can  he  form  an  idea  of  the  mass  as  a  whole.  From  the 
landward  side  and  from  the  city  the  most  imposing 
approach  is  through  the  first  gate  at  the  end  of  the  long 
bazaar,  where  one  enters  the  outer  precincts  and  stands  in 
front  of  the  "  trifolia,"  or  triple  -  arched  gateway,  which 
is  in  itself  a  noble  structure,  placed  high  upon  rising 
ground,  commanding  the  entrance  to  the  long  terrace  in 
front  of  the  castle  walls,  and  crowned  by  open  and  deli- 
cately fashioned  cupolas,  connected  with  each  other  by  a 
white  wall  or  curtain  of  transparent  stone  lattice-work. 
Above  this  gateway  soars  the  great  white  fabric,  airy,  un- 
real, and  fantastic  as  a  dream,  stretching  away  in  a  seem- 
ingly endless  perspective  of  latticed  cupolas,  domes,  tur- 
rets, and  jutting  oriel- windows,  rising  tier  above  tier,  at 
a  dizzy  height  from  the  ground.  A  single  dark  tree 
spreads  its  branches  above  the  walls  of  the  topmost  court, 
at  the  very  apex  of  the  pile.* 

*  Fergusson,  in  his  History  of  Indian  and  EaMcrn  Architecture,  says 
of  lliis  palace:  "It  has  not  unfrequentlj'  been  compared  with  the  castle 
at  "Windsor,  and  not  inaptly,  for  both  in  outline  and  extent  it  is  not  un- 
like that  palace,  though  differing  wonderfully  in  detail  and  in  situation. 


260  A  GLASS  APARTMENT 

Seen  in  the  morning  light,  with  the  sunshine  slanting 
obliquely  across  the  dazzling  white  of  the  lower  walls,  and 
accentuating  the  balconied  windows,  while  it  leaves  the 
trifolia  gateway  and  whole  masses  of  the  palace  in 
shadow — a  shadow  full  of  mellow  reflections  and  the  azure 
of  the  sky — it  has  the  coloring  of  a  great  cumulus  cloud, 
and  seems  hardly  more  material. 

It  was  not  by  this  gate,  however,  that  we  entered. the 
palace  for  the  first  time,  but  we  followed  the  carriage 
drive  at  the  very  opposite  end,  passing  under  the  round 
gray  towers  of  the  new  wing,  not  yet  finished,  and  which 
will  probably  embody  in  its  interior  decoration  the  choic- 
est examples  of  South  Kensington  and  Chippendale  art. 

By  this  route,  which  winds  past  the  towers  by  a  sort 
of  ascending  ramp,  we  enter  a  narrow  garden,  where  the 
glass  globes  of  electric  lamps  rise  among  the  flower  beds 
and  low  shrubbery.  Here  stands  a  detached  white  build- 
ing, like  a  modern  bungalow  of  superior  architecture,  with 
broad,  open  doors.  The  first  apartment  is  a  sleeping- 
room  of  generous  dimensions,  which  is  furnished  entirely 
with  glass  and  crystal;  the  furniture,  tables,  arm-chairs, 
mantel  ornaments,  even  the  bed  itself  and  the  "  punka " 
frames,  as  well  as  the  great  chandeliers  and  lustres,  are 
all  of  glittering  cut  glass.  A  long  dining-room  opens  out 
of  this  first  chamber;  one  end  of  it,  used  as  a  billiard- 
room,  has  a  bay-windowed  recess  overlooking  the  garden. 


In  this  latter  respect  the  Eastern  has  tiie  advantage  of  the  Western  pal- 
ace, as  it  stands  on  the  verge  of  an  extensive  lake,  surrounded  by  hills  of 
great  beauty  of  outline,  and  in  the  lake  are  two  island  palaces,  the  Jug 
Navas  and  Jug  Munder,  which  are  more  beautiful  in  their  class  than 
any  similar  objects  I  know  of  elsewhere.  It  would  be  difficult  to  find 
any  scene  where  art  and  nature  are  so  happily  blended  together  and 
produce  so  fair^'-like  an  effect.  Certainly  nothing  I  know  of  so  modern 
a  date  equals  it." 


CASTLE    OK    THE    RANAS    OF     OIPEYPORE 


262  A  LOVELY   PKOSPECT 

Some  full-length  portraits  hang  on  the  walls,  among 
which  is  one  of  the  late  Maharana,  by  the  English  painter 
Prinsep.  On  the  floor  above  are  suites  of  sleeping-rooms, 
furnished  according  to  the  latest  English  ideas  of  comfort. 
But  the  most  charming  feature  of  this  palace  is  the  little 
marble  belvedere  perched  on  the  low  garden  wall  over- 
looking the  lake.  From  the  principal  entrance  it  is  hardly 
more  than  a  step  across  the  gravelled  walk  and  the  prim 
flower  beds  to  the  little  pavilion  with  slender  and  frag- 
ile arches  of  white  marble  upholding  the  canopy.  Two 
hundred  feet  below,  at  a  rough  estimate,  lies  the  blue 
lake,  fringed  with  green,  surrounded  by  gardens,  the  palm- 
tufted  islands,  each  with  its  gleaming  white  palace,  and 
always  the  same  horizon  of  lonely  hills. 

We  reached  the  more  distant  and  ancient  part  of  the 
palace,  which  is  so  impressive  when  seen  from  the  trifolia 
gate,  after  a  short  drive  along  the  connecting  walls  and 
towers,  from  the  great  terrace  on  the  landward  side.  This 
long  expanse  of  gravel,  often  used  as  a  parade-ground, 
with  a  line  of  arcaded  structures  for  the  stabling  of 
horses  and  elephants,  standing  on  its  extreme  verge  above 
the  town,  is  built  upon  tiers  of  arches,  resting  on  the 
rocky  ridge  below. 

Beyond  the  gateway  by  which  we  enter  this  wing  of 
the  palace  we  reach  a  small  court-yard  b}'"  a  few  steps  up- 
ward, and  are  confronted  by  a  huge  and  portentous  image 
of  Vishnu,  enshrined,  in  a  niche,  and  daubed  with  red 
paint ;  bedecked  with  yellow  flowers,  but  stern  and  ag- 
gressive of  aspect,  he  watches  over  this  part  of  the  palace 
as  if  to  repel  the  invasion  of  latter-day  Philistines.  A 
strange  old  figure,  which  might  claim  kinshij)  with  the 
image  in  the  niche,  comes  hobbling  out  to  meet  us ;  his 
forehead  is  decorated  with  a  brush-mark  of  yellow  paint, 
he  has  a  long   -white  mustache,  faded  yellow  garments, 


A  VETERAN 


263 


and  carries  a  curved  "tulwar."  His  general  make-up 
gave  him  the  aspect  of  a  fakir  of  some  sort,  but  he  proved 
to  be  a  superannuated  captain  of  the  palace  guards,  and 
the  janitor  of  this  particular  quarter.  A  few  steps  higher 
we  come  to  another  court,  with  a  dark  hall  on  one  side, 
entered  from  an  open  gallery  with  low  eaves  upheld  by 
sculptured  consoles.  In  this  hall  the  dead  Ranas  are  laid 
in  state.  The  steep  and  narrow  stairways,  the  angular, 
winding,  and  dimly  lighted  passages  of   solid   masonry. 


CASTLE    A.ND    PALACE    FROM    ACROSS    THE    LAKE 


264  A  PEACOCK  COURT 

faced  with  polished  "  chunar,"  *  dingy  with  age  and  use^ 
which  lead  us  from  one  marvel  to  another,  seem  strangely 
out  of  keeping  with  the  grandeur  of  a  palace,  where  one 
would  expect  to  find  at  least  one  monumental  staircase. 
But  the  young  Rajpoot  who  is  guiding  us  through  the  laby- 
rinth is  well  up  in  the  history  of  his  country,  and  explains 
that  this  structure,  like  most  others  of  the  same  epoch,  is 
so  built  for  defence  against  possible  invasion.  For  most 
of  these  narrow  stairs  and  dark  winding  passages  will 
admit  only  one  at  a  time,  and  the  invaders  must  per- 
force enter  in  single  file.  By  one  of  the  passages  we 
came  to  a  balcony  overlooking  a  court-yard  where  "  dur- 
bars" are  sometimes  held.  Red  awnings  roof  in  the 
court  below,  and  the  dim  light  which  pervades  the  place 
filters  through  a  range  of  latticed  windows  on  the  same 
level  as  the  balcony  where  we  stand.  In  the  centre  of 
this  line  of  windows  and  latticed  arches  a  marvellous  pro- 
jecting oriel  of  blue  glass  overhangs  the  court ;  the  slender 
columns  supporting  the  canopy,  and  the  brackets  or  con- 
soles which  uphold  the  entire  structure,  and  which  are 
shaped  like  peacocks,  are  all  of  glass  and  crystal,  vivid 
ultramarine  blue  and  pale  green  in  their  prevailing  tints. 
Descending  to  the  level  of  the  court-yard  we  find  at  each 
end  an  arcaded  recess,  each  with  a  fountain  set  in  the 
wall.  These  two  fountains  are  alike :  a  shell-shaped  basin 
projects  from  the  wall,  above  which  stands  in  the  arched 
recess  a  gorgeous  blue  and  green  peacock,  pre-Raphaelite 
in  fidelity  of  color  and  design,  and  of  the  same  glittering 
crystal  as  the  balcony  above.  When  we  ascend  again  to 
the  line  of  the  upper  balconies  we  continue  on  through  a 
long  range  of  small  chambers,  each  commanding  by  its 

*  Chunar  is  a  sort  of  cement  or  stucco  of  fine  texture,  and  capable 
of  such  a  high  degree  of  polish  that  it  is  often  used  as  a  substitute  for 
marble. 


A    TILED    WINDOW    IX    THE    PALACE 


projecting  bay-window  a  view  of  the  terrace  below  and  a 
vast  sweep  of  landscape,  the  snow-white  domes  and  flat 
terraces  and  temple  spires  among  green  tree-tops  of  the 
city  which  sleeps  beneath  us,  and  on  all  sides  the  far- 
reaching  horizon  of  faint  purple  hills.  One  of  these  bal- 
conies within  and  without,  as  well  as  the  little  chamber 
to  which  it  gives  light,  is  covered  with  old  Dutch  tiles, 
in  which  blue  prevails.  Seen  from  the  terrace  below, 
this  blue  window  makes  a  pleasing  note  of  color  in 
the  endless  expanse  of  white.     Another  room  is  walled 


266  A   SUMMER   BED 

with  dull  glass  in  long  straight  slabs,  in  horizontal,  ver- 
tical, and  zigzag,  zebra-like  bands  ;  on  the  walls  are  little 
portraits  of  old  monarchs  and  men  of  state,  painted  on 
rice  23aper,  and  resembling  in  delicacy  of  design  and  color- 
ing the  work  of  the  older  Japanese  painters.  Beyond 
this  long  range  of  apartments,  of  which  no  two  are  alike, 
we  come  to  a  marble  court-yard  open  to  the  sky,  and  not 
unlike  that  at  Secundra,  where  the  tomb  of  Akbar  is 
placed.  A  small  garden  in  the  centre  is  enclosed  by  a 
low  lattice  of  white  marble,  and  a  solitar}'  cocoanut-palm, 
which  can  be  seen  from  all  the  surrounding  country,  rears 
its  golden  plumes  high  above  the  palace  walls.  The 
marble  here  is  tawny  with  age.  From  this  court  opens  a 
summer  sleeping-room  of  the  Maharana,  which  is  truly 
original ;  it  is  a  large  square  hall,  of  which  the  only 
visible  material  is  marble.  A  row  of  columns  separates 
it  from  the  court,  and  the  other  three  sides,  save  for  the 
supporting  piers  or  columns,  have  transparent  walls  of 
that  delicate  stone  tracery  peculiar  to  India.  In  the  cen- 
tre there  is  a  tank  of  water,  and  from  the  tank  rises  a 
sort  of  island  platform,  with  low  trellis-work  around  it, 
and  slender  columns  supporting  a  dome.  This  is  the  bed 
where  royalty  sometimes  sleeps  on  hot  summer  nights,  in 
the  spring-time,  or  in  "  monsoon  weather,"  when  kept  in 
town  by  pressure  of  affairs.  The  island  couch  and  the 
bridge  connecting  it  with  the  mainland  or  floor,  as  well 
as  the  broad  expanse  of  pavement,  are  of  the  same  polished 
white  marble.  Perched  on  the  very  summit  of  the  castle, 
every  chance  breeze  must  draw  through  it  from  the  outer 
court,  or  through  the  latticed  walls.  From  the  balconies 
one  may  look  directly  down  on  the  broad  backs  of  ele- 
phants chained  to  a  low  wall,  and  busily  engaged  in  pow- 
dering themselves  with  dust.  Here  the  elephant  fights 
take  place,  and  the  great  brutes  are  made  to  charge  at 


HIS  WEIGHT  IN  GOLD  267 

each  other  from  opposite  sides  of  the  wall.  In  one  of  the 
preceding  courts  there  is  a  curious  example  of  glass  inlay. 
On  either  side  of  a  very  small  window  the  wall  is  deco- 
rated with  life-sized  figures  in  groups,  and  trees  resem- 
bling the  weeping-willows  worked  b}^  our  grandmothers  in 
the  funereal  "samplers"  of  their  day.  The  figures  are 
clothed  in  a  nondescript  fantastic  costume,  between  the 
Rajpoot  costume  and  the  fashion  of  European  dress  in  the 
days  of  the  First  Empire,  and  the  subjects  seem  to  be 
episodes  of  courtship  conducted  in  a  highly  jovial  and 
eccentric  manner. 

From  the  upper  windows  a  series  of  curious  structures 
is  visible,  standing  in  a  row  along  the  wall  near  the 
trifolia  gate.  They  consist  of  carved  Hindoo  arches 
supported  by  stone  columns,  and  from  the  apex  of  each 
arch  hangs  a  gigantic  pair  of  scales.  They  are  called 
"  torans,"  and  were  built  by  successive  Maharanas,  who 
were  in  the  habit  of  weighing  themselves  on  the  day  of 
their  accession  to  the  throne,  or  upon  other  festal  occa- 
sions, against  their  weight  in  gold,  in  rupees,  or  in  other 
valuables,  and  the  plunder  was  afterwards  distributed 
among  the  priests  and  the  inferior  castes. 

As  one  seldom  has  the  opportunity  of  seeing  this  cere- 
mony performed,  we  cannot  do  better  than  to  give  the 
account  in  the  Journal  of  Sir  Thomas  Roe,  the  first  Eng- 
lish  ambassador  to  the  court  of  the  "  Great  Mogul,"  early 
in  the  seventeenth  century.  He  saw  the  Emperor  Jehan- 
ghir  "  weighed  in  the  balance,"  and  seems  to  have  found 
the  spectacle  amusing  : 

''  The  first  of  September  was  the  King's  birth-day  and 
the  solemnity  of  his  weighing  to  which  I  went,  and  was 
carryed  into  a  very  large  and  beautiful  garden,  the  square 
within  all  water,  on  the  sides  flowers  and  trees,  in  the 
midst  a  Pinacle,  where  was  prepared  the   scales,  being 


268  ALEXANDER  AND  SOCRATES 

hung  in  large  tresseles,  and  a  crosse  beame  plated  on  with 
gold  thinne :  the  scales  of  masse  gold,  the  borders  set  with 
small  stones,  Rubies  and  Turkey,*  the  scales  of  gold  large 
and  masse  but  strengthened  with  silke  cords." 

Then  follows  a  detailed  description  of  the  gorgeous 
raiment  and  jewelry  of  his  Mogul  Majesty,  and  then: 
"  Suddenly  hee  entered  into  the  scales,  sate  like  a  woman 
on  his  legges  and  there  was  put  in  against  him,  many 
bagges  to  fit  his  weight  which  were  changed  six  times, 
and  they  say  was  silver,  and  that  I  understood  his  weight 
to  be  nine  thousand  Rupias,  which  are  almost  one  thou- 
sand pound  sterling:  after  with  gold  and  jewels  and 
precious  stones,  but  I  saw  none,  it  being  in  bagges  might 
be  Pibbles." 

This  was  doubtless  all  very  fine  indeed ;  but  after  con- 
templating the  Rajpoots  and  their  indisputable  "  claims  of 
long  descent,"  one  cannot  but  look  upon  those  Mogul 
emperors  as  a  set  of  upstarts  and  parvenus  who  Avould 
have  found  it  difiicult  to  trace  their  descent  even  to  the 
days  of  the  Crusades,  and  upon  their  gaudy  splendor  as 
mere  vulgar  ostentation. 

.  .  .  The  goal  of  one  of  our  pilgrimages  to  the  town  was 
the  state  school  situated  in  this  quarter.  It  seemed  to 
be  an  event  for  both  masters  and  pupils,  for  one  of  the 
company  was  a  statesman  whose  temporary  retirement 
was  just  then  the  chief  topic  of  the  London  press;  but  of 
this  I  was  not  aware  at  the  moment.  An  amusing  episode 
for  this  impromptu  school  committee  was  a  dialogue  in 
English  between  two  Hindoo  youngsters  of  eleven  or 
twelve,  in  which  one  represented  Alexander  the  Great 
and  the  other  personified  Socrates.  They  were  watched 
with  breathless  solicitude,  and  egged  on,  when  their  en- 

*  Turquoise. 


270  A   BEAUTIFUL  LANDSCAPE 

thusiasra  seemed  to  flag,  by  the  English  teacher,  a  tur- 
baned  Mussulman,  to  whom  we  were  afterwards  intro- 
duced by  Mr.  Fateh  Lai,  who  had  been  his  pupil.  A  class 
of  young  men  from  fifteen  to  twenty  were  well  up  in  the 
higher  mathematics,  and  the  visiting  committee  wisely 
abstained  from  any  very  searching  examination.  In  the 
primary  section  below,  a  class  of  little  Hindoo  girls  had 
already  commenced  their  English  grammar.  I  may  here 
note,  what  I  have  remarked  elsewhere  in  India,  the  un- 
expected and  sometimes  startling  precocity  of  the  young 
in  matters  intellectual. 

As  we  leave  this  quarter  the  street  descends  a  steep 
hill  between  tall  houses,  and  at  the  bottom  we  come  to 
another  three-arched  gateway,  which  is  an  extension  of  a 
palace  belonging  to  some  branch  of  the  reigning  family. 
Above  the  arches  a  long  latticed  gallery  connects  the 
structure  with  the  main  body  of  the  palace.  All  this 
upper  portion  is  ornamented  with  frescoed  designs,  and  in 
places  with  an  inlay  of  blue  glass,  having  the  effect  of 
tiles.  Passing  under  the  arches,  we  emerge  from  the 
shadow  into  a  dazzle  of  light;  from  the  broad  platform 
of  old  and  yellow  marble,  well  polished  by  the  constant 
friction  of  bare  feet,  a  few  low  steps  lead  down  to  the  blue 
waters  of  the  Pinchola  Lake.  On  one  side  a  white  wall 
ending  in  a  little  temple  cuts  off  the  view ;  the  dancing 
reflection  of  the  sun  in  the  water  is  thrown  up  in  long  rip- 
pling waves  of  light  into  the  shadow  of  the  eaves.  The 
view  down  the  lake  on  the  other  side  is  unsurpassed  in 
India.  A  long  perspective  of  white  palaces,  wath  many 
domes  and  oriel-windows,  with  solid  masses  of  dark  foliage 
rising  from  the  water  here  and  there,  reaches  to  the  great 
supporting  walls  of  the  Rana's  castle,  and  at  this  point  the 
lake  opens  out  into  greater  width  ;  its  horizon  of  gardens 
and  hills  beyond  is  interrupted  only  by  the  fantastic  sil- 


ARTISTIC  GROUPS  271 

houettes  of  the  island  palaces,  which  seem  to  float  between 
water  and  sky ;  it  is  as  if  the  elusive  mirages  which  we 
had  so  often  seen  on  our  way  across  the  white  salt  deserts 
of  Persia,  and  which  had  always  melted  into  thin  air,  had 
at  last  become  materialized  here.  As  we  stand  on  the 
steps  and  look  across  the  water  in  front  of  us,  which  is 
like  a  narrow  river  at  this  point,  we  see  other  temples 
among  dark  trees,  all  in  the  shadow,  and  there  are  also 
little  garden  pavilions,  with  steps  descending  to  the  water, 
and  sometimes  with  graceful  arcaded  galleries  overhang- 
ing it.  Just  now  the  platform  behind  us  and  the  steps  are 
crowded  with  women  and  young  girls,  babies  and  chil- 
dren, all  either  bathing  or  washing  their  brazen  water- 
jars,  chattering,  gossiping,  laughing,  or  lying  about  in  the 
genial  afternoon  sunshine  of  January,  and  not  at  all  in  a 
hurry  to  finish  their  work  or  to  go  home.  Under  and 
through  the  white  arches  an  endless  throng  of  these  grace- 
fully draped,  swaying  figures,  in  scarlet,  in  crimson  and 
dull  gold,  in  faded  reds  and  warm  blues,  carrying  on 
their  heads  the  great  vases  of  glittering  metal,  is  c(jntinu- 
ally  passing  to  and  from  the  wet  and  glistening  steps. 
The  golden  afternoon  haze  is  beginning  to  soften  the  white 
of  the  walls,  but  to-morrow  morning,  when  this  side  is  in 
shadow,  we  shall  see  exactly  the  same  mellow  glow  on 
the  opposite  side,  and  the  difference  between  morning  and 
afternoon  is  quite  too  intangible  to  express  with  any 
painter's  medium.  A  boat  with  a  numerous  crew  is  wait- 
ing at  the  landing,  and,  having  settled  ourselves  comfort- 
ably among  the  cushions,  we  are  pushed  off  from  the  shore, 
and  steer  for  the  island  of  "  Jug  Navas,"  which  is  the 
nearest  of  the  larger  islands,  and  seems  to  be  the  more 
material.  Just  as  we  leave  the  steps  an  elephant  emerges 
slowly  from  the  gloom  of  the  arch  and  conies  down  to 
the  water;  his  "mahout"  has  no  need  to  guide  him  with 


272 


A  CAUTIOUS  ANIMAL 


heel  or  prong;  he  knows  well  where  the  water  is,  and 
when  he  reaches  the  steps,  he  first  puts  one  foot  cautiously 
down  and  tries  the  lower  step,  and  then  solidly  plants  the 
other  fore-foot  with  equal  deliberation.  He  has  taken  the 
same  precaution  many  times  before,  and  will  not  fail  to  do 
so  the  next  time.  Having  assured  himself  of  his  present 
safety,  he  proceeds  to  suck  up  the  water  through  his  long, 
flexible  filter.  As  the  boat  moves  down  the  lake  towards 
the  islands,  the  glow  and  power  of  the  white  light  thrown 
back  from  the  vast  and  towering  expanse  of  blank  wall 
from  Avhich  the  Rana's  palace  soars  upward  against  the 
deep  blue  of  the  sky,  and  from  the  white  city  at  its  side, 
is  almost  too  much  for  the  eyes.  All  this  white,  streaked 
in  places  with  the  golden  green  of  the  hanging  terraced 
gardens,  and  the  scarlet  and  multicolored  figures  on  the 
steps,  and  the  drinking  elephants,  are  mirrored  below,  and 


'.1X2/ 


ISLAND   OF   JUG    NAVAS 


ARTIFICIAL   WATER  273 

until  the  prow  cuts  the  glassy  surface  it  seems  at  times 
like  passing  over  a  white  cloud. 


IV 

The  low  wall  of  an  island  kiosk  hides  a  garden  court, 
and  as  the  boat  glides  past  the  open  door  we  see  for  a 
moment  the  glossy  foliage  of  the  orange-trees  and  the  tes- 
sellated pavement,  strewn  with  little  glass  lamps  which  are 
used  to  illuminate  the  islands  during  the  great  festival  of 
the  "  Holi."  A  few  more  strokes  of  the  oars  and  we  pass 
into  the  shadow  of  the  island  palace  of  "  Jug  Navas,"  a 
shadow  broken  by  long  shafts  of  sunlight  which  slant 
through  the  low  arches  of  the  arcade,  and  through  open 
balconied  windows  overhanging  the  water.*  Through 
these  openings,  and  between  the  interstices  of  the  intricate 
vine-like  lattices,  there  are  glimpses  of  tangled  foliage 
touched  with  golden  light,  where  the  sun  pierces  the  green 
transparency  of  banana  leaves  or  the  drooping  fronds  of 
cocoanut-trees,  and  high  above  all  rises  a  slender-stemmed 
fan-palm.  A  few  of  the  window  lattices  are  filled  in  with 
stained  glass,  and  across  them  are  etched  the  flickering 
shadows  of  long  leaves,  which  sway  and  shiver  with  everj'^ 
breath  of  wind.  The  domes  which  rise  above  the  outer 
walls  are  tipped  with  great  pear-shaped  knobs  of  crystal 
or  of  emerald-green  glass  which  flash  like  jewels  against 
the  dark  foliage.  Even  should  one  succeed  in  describing, 
like  a  guide-book,  and  in  the  natural  order  and  sequence, 
the  different  nooks  and  corners  of  this  miniature  labyrinth, 
he  would  fail  in  giving  the  truest  impression  of  a  place 

*The  Picliola  Lake  is  artificial,  like  the  three  other  lakes  in  the  neigli- 
borhood.  The  "  Jassamund  "  or  Dehbor  Lake,  some  miles  away,  is  the 
largest  artificial  lake  in  the  world,  being  twelve  miles  in  length  by  nine 
in  breadth. 

IS 


274  TRANQUIL  DELIGHTS 

which  seems  designed  intentionally  to  confuse  and  bewil- 
der the  Aisitor,  and  Avhich  owes  one  of  its  chief  charms  to 
the  element  of  the  unexpected.  It  was  evidently  not  in- 
tended to  be  imposing  or  grandiose  in  its  architectural  ef- 
fect, but  it  certainly  impresses  one  as  a  delightful  medley 
of  cool  and  dimly  lighted  retreats,  opening  suddenly  on  to 
terraces  or  into  bright  gardens,  watered  by  tortuous  chan- 
nels confined  by  low  parapets  of  chunar,  with  great 
central  tanks  choked  with  lotus  leaves  ;  and  of  dark  wind- 
ing passages  and  steep  and  narrow  stairways,  whence  one 
emerges  out  of  the  gloom,  after  knocking  his  knees  on 
the  steps  or  his  head  against  the  roof,  into  the  blinding 
outer  light  with  some  new  vista  before  him.  As  a  hot- 
weather  retreat,  no  more  perfect  spot  could  be  imagined, 
and  the  exquisite  little  vignettes  of  calm  lake  and  moun- 
tain seen  through  the  arched  windows,  framed  by  long, 
swaying  palm  leaves,  together  with  the  subdued,  monoto- 
nous lapping  of  the  water  against  the  walls,  and  the  dry 
rustling  of  the  great  leaves,  all  combine  to  create  an  at- 
mosphere of  repose,  of  tranquil  and  indolent  forgetf ulness. 
One  of  the  most  inviting  little  nooks  is  an  oblong  bathing- 
tank,  surrounded  by  white  chunar  walls  with  marble  ar- 
cades, and  quite  open  to  the  sky.  We  enter  at  one  end 
upon  a  narrow  platform,  and  in  the  centre  of  it  rises  a 
steep  incHned  plane  of  highly  polished  white  marble,  edged 
by  a  narrow  border  of  inlaid  blue  glass ;  the  top  of  this 
slope  is  reached  by  a  narrow  stairway,  and  from  this  ele- 
vated station  the  amber-hued  fair  bathers  were  wont  to 
slide  doAvn  into  the  water,  doubtless  with  the  same  chorus 
of  shrieks  which  is  heard  from  the  "  montagnes  russes," 
or  Switchback  Railway,  when  the  fete  at  Neuilly  is  in 
progress.  At  the  opposite  end  of  the  tank  a  low  open- 
work parapet  of  marble  fences  off  a  portion  of  the  plat- 
form, probably  reserved  for  royalty.     Upon  either  side  a 


276  EFFECTIVE  GLASS-WORK 

series  of  arches  opens  into  the  cool  halls,  with  various  little 
cushioned  retreats  beyond.  Here  again  arabesque  borders 
of  dull  blue  or  green  glass,  inlaid  in  the  marble,  accentu- 
ate the  outlines  of  the  arches  and  relieve  the  squareness 
of  the  supporting  columns.  I  have  never  seen  elsewhere 
in  India  glass  used  in  this  way,  and  it  is  quite  as  effective 
as  the  inlay  of  more  costly  materials  in  the  northern  pal- 
aces. From  the  wall  of  one  of  the  rooms  projects  a 
curved  shallow  basin,  which  forms  the  base  of  a  niche,  or- 
namented with  glass  mosaic,  and  it  is  so  contrived  that  it 
may  perform  the  office  of  a  bath,  or  at  least  provide  a 
cool  place  to  sit  in  of  a  hot  afternoon.  There  is  little 
other  furniture  but  a  few  brocaded  arm-chairs  and  sofas 
ranged  against  the  wall,  and  heavy  portieres  shut  out  the 
light  of  the  court.  Another  little  detail  seemed  quite  pe- 
culiar to  this  palace :  the  high  white  walls  which  shut  in 
the  tank  from  the  other  buildings  have  spear-head  battle- 
ments along  the  top,  and  the  interstices  between  them  are 
filled  with  stained  glass.  A  small  room,  which  is  en- 
tered from  a  higher  level,  is  unique  and  decidedly  artistic 
in  its  decoration.  Two  narrow  spaces  on  each  side  of  a 
door  are  filled  by  portraits  frescoed  on  the  walls — one  of 
them  is  a  seated  life-size  portrait  of  the  late  Maharana,  and 
the  other  may  have  represented  the  queen  or  some  favor- 
ite of  the  day.  These  royalties  are  depicted  with  the  fair- 
est of  English  complexions,  but  they  would  have  been  far 
more  decorative  with  their  own  golden  -  brown  skins,  no 
darker  in  reality  than  the  tint  of  a  sun-burnt  European. 

This  delicate  bit  of  flattery  shows  that  the  concessions 
which  insure  the  prosperity  of  the  fashionable  portrait- 
painter  elsewhere  are  expected  here  as  well.  Both  of 
these  pictures  are  drawn  with  much  skill  and  delicacy  of 
handling,  and  are  quite  in  the  spirit  of  Japanese  art. 
Upon  another  high  and  narrow  panel  there  is  a  hunting 


PANEL  PAINTINGS  277 

scene,  or,  rather,  what  seems  to  be  at  first  several  differ- 
ent hunting  scenes,  but  which,  after  careful  study,  resolve 
themselves  into  different  phases  of  one.  All  these  inci- 
dents are  represented  as  taking  place  upon  a  common 
background — a  perpendicular  rocky  cliff  or  face  of  a  moun- 
tain, with  thin  trees  or  low  scrub  growing  in  places.  In 
the  uppermost  scene  the  prince,  standing  in  front  of  his  re- 
tainei's,  is  taking  aim  at  a  tiger ;  in  the  second,  just  below, 
the  tiger  is  wounded,  and  gets  his  final  couj)  de  grace ;  in 
the  third  he  has  rolled  down  into  a  gully ;  and  in  the  final 
scene  he  is  being  carried  off  on  a  sort  of  improvised  stretch- 
er by  the  "  shikarries,"  and  the  whole  cavalcade  follows 
behind.  The  landscape  is  all  very  vast,  and  the  figures 
are  very  small  and  delicate  in  execution  ;  and  as  a  Avork  of 
art  it  is  exceedingly  naive,  and  is  quite  serious  in  inten- 
tion. Another  companion  panel  is  quite  in  the  same  vain, 
and  the  background  is  a  similar  vertical  and  rocky  land- 
scape. In  this  series  his  Highness  is  firing  at  glass  balls 
thrown  up  by  his  attendants,  after  the  fashion  of  Buffalo 
Bill.  I  do  not  remember  the  date  of  the  fresco,  and  it 
may  be  that  the  late  Maharana  invented  this  pastime. 
Even  the  shattering  and  bursting  of  the  glass  bulbs,  filled 
with  red  powder,  is  successfully  achieved  by  the  artist. 
But  there  is  one  note  which  is  slightly  out  of  harmony 
with  the  rest  of  the  decoration.  The  door  by  which  we 
entered  being  closed,  we  see  that  on  each  side  there  is  a 
vertical  range  of  square  panels,  and  that  each  of  these 
panels  frames  a  colored  chrorao  taken  from  the  Christ- 
mas Grajjhic,  or  from  some  German  periodical,  represent- 
ing beautiful   damsels,  blonde  and   brunette ;  and   thev 

O  '  '  *■■■ 

have  been  varnished,  so  that  they  are  like  tiie  pictures 
produced  by  that  once  fashionable  but  now  defunct  art 
called  "  Grecian  painting." 

The  European  note  which  we  find  here  and  there  in 


278  A  MARBLE  COUCH 

Eastern  palaces  is  usually  discordant,  but  it  is  quite  possi- 
ble that  the  intelligent  traveller  from  Japan  may  be  oc- 
casionally shocked  by  crudities  which  are  thought  to  rep- 
resent the  art  of  his  country  in  Western  homes.  The 
small  boudoir  decorated  with  these  paintings  opens  from 
a  larger  sleeping-room  sometimes  used  by  the  Maharana ; 
the  light  from  the  water  below  the  windows  is  thrown  up 
through  the  closed  Venetian  blinds,  and  reflected  on  the 
walls  and  ceiling.  The  furniture  is  evidently  designed  and 
carved  by  native  artisans  after  European  models,  and  the 
most  striking  feature  of  the  room  is  an  enormous  mirror, 
with  a  frame  of  carved  black  wood,  reaching  from  the 
ceiling  nearly  to  the  floor ;  it  is,  in  reality,  a  door  which 
when  opened  discloses  a  small  room  two  feet  higher  than 
the  sleeping-room,  and  in  its  marble  floor  there  are  rows 
of  little  star-shaped  orifices  which  send  up  jets  of  water 
upon  the  pressure  of  a  spring.  This  is  another  device 
against  the  hot  spring-time,  when  a  wet  marble  is  more 
inviting  than  the  dry,  hot  linen  or  silk  of  a  couch.  This 
island  of  Jug  Wavas  has  its  modern  palace,  with  rooms 
which  recall  the  Trianon  at  Yersailles,  with  Empire  furni- 
ture, maps,  and  pictures  on  the  walls,  and  a  well-light- 
ed drawing-room  overlooking  the  lake  and  the  gardens. 
With  this  exception  most  of  the  little  palaces  in  this 
island  were  built  during  the  reign  of  the  Maharana 
Jugat  Singh  II.  in  the  last  century,  and  the  whole  island, 
according  to  Kousselet,  covers  a  surface  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty  "ares  anglais."* 

The  larger  island  of  Jug  Munder  presents  the  most 
fascinating  silhouette  when  seen  either  from  the  public 
gardens,  along  the  shore  beyond  the  new  wing  of  the 
great  palace,  or  from  the  lake  at  sunset.     It  is  not  easy  to 

*  An  are  is  about  11.96  square  yards. 


BEAUTY   AND   GRACE 


279 


find  words  in  which  to 
express  either  its  beauty 
of  color  or  its  grace  of 
outline,  for  it  embodies 
more  completely  than  any 
landscape  I  have  3'et  seen 
that  intangible  charm  of 
the  tropics.  Modern  art 
has  done  much  to  show 
that  things  ugly  in  them- 
selves and  phases  of  nat- 
ure which  are  sombre  and 
almost    colorless    can    be 


O.N    THE    ISLAND    OF    JUG    MUNDKR 


280  A  BOUQUET   OF  PALMS 

made  beautiful  and  appealing  through  art,  but  it  is  still 
questionable  whether  the  means  which  are  sufficient  to 
express  the  one  can  also  interpret  the  other.  Meanwhile 
it  is  enough  to  be  in  it  and  of  it,  and  to  enjoy  without 
striving  hopelessly  to  render  the  unattainable. 

At  sunset  when  the  water,  unbroken  by  a  single  ripple, 
repeats  the  glow  of  the  sky,  the  island  is  the  one  dark  note 
in  all  the  expanse  of  pale  rose,  save  for  the  purple  range 
of  hills  on  the  mainland  beyond.  Over  the  low  line  of 
arches  and  domes  and  white  garden  walls,  which  repeat 
the  cool  azure  tint  of  the  sky  above,  rise  the  dusky  and 
massive  crowns  of  ancient  mango  and  banyan  trees,  and 
high  above  them  towers  a  fringe  of  graceful  fan-palms 
and  cocoanuts.  But  few  of  the  slender  stems  are  straight, 
and  the  others  lean  across  them  at  various  angles.  From 
the  landing-place  they  rise  up  in  a  compact  bouquet,  and 
from  any  point  of  view  they  are  picturesque  and  alto- 
gether satisfactory.  On  one  side  of  the  landing-place  there 
is  a  long  row  of  stone  elephants  with  upraised  trunks  which 
stand  with  the  feet  in  the  water,  "When  we  enter  the 
open  gate  we  find  ourselves  in  a  long  court,  and  the  palace, 
which  with  its  dependencies  occupies  the  greater  part  of 
the  island,  rises  on  our  right.  It  is  architecturally  more 
imposing  than  any  structure  on  the  other  island,  and  the 
tawny  yellow  hue  of  its  domes  and  upper  stories  contrasts 
pleasantly  with  the  white  below. 

The  great  oblong  court  above  which  rises  this  simple 
and  stately  fagade  would  make  an  ideal  7nise  en  scene 
for  some  Eastern  drama  by  Sardou.  To  qualify  it  as 
theatrical  might  seem  disparaging,  and  yet  one  cannot 
see  it  without  thinking  of  the  theatre,  or,  rather,  of  the 
opera,  and  longing  to  see  it  peopled  with  a  crowd  of 
courtiers  and  attendants,  and  a  glittering  ballet  of  Nautch 
girls.     Close  to  the  water-gate  there  is  a  low  platform,  a 


■Nr,*i 


■;i#If^    '^^ 


JUG   MUNDER — THE    LANDING 


throne,  and  a  domed  canopy  above  it,  all  of  white  marble. 
A  long  checkered  expanse  of  ])avement  extends  in  front 
of  us  as  we  stand  there,  flanked  on  the  right  by  the 
palace,  on  the  left  by  huge  old  trees,  and  the  lofty  palms 
which  we  saw  from  the  water.  They  rise  from  thickets 
of  banana  leaves  which  hide  the  lake.  At  the  opposite 
end,  near  the  entrance  of  the  palace,  there  is  a  broad  tank 
near  which  stand  several  kiosks,  one  of  which  is  of  del- 
icately sculptured  black  marble.  The  legend  runs  that 
this  palace  was  built  by  the  Kana  Koroun  as  a  refuge 
for  Shah  Jehan,  who  had  mutinied  against  his  father, 
the  Mogul  Emperor  Jehanghir,  and  had  sought  shelter 
at  the  Rajpoot  court  of  Oudeypore.  To  use  the  words  of 
Rousselet,  "the  interior  is  decorated  with  mosaics  of 
jasper,  agate,  and  onyx,"  and  in  one  of  the  halls  there  is 
a  low  throne  or  platform,  supported  by  caryatides,  and 
hewn  from  a  single  block  of  green  serpentine.     Mr.  Fateh 


282  A  MASS  OF  COLOR 

Lai,  who  was  one  of  the  party  when  I  first  saw  this 
palace,  said  that  there  is  good  authority  for  the  belief 
that  here  Shah  Jehan  first  conceived  the  idea  of  the 
precious  mosaic  with  which  his  architects  decorated  the 
matchless  Taj-Mahal  and  many  of  the  imperial  palaces 
erected  during  his  reign.  Here  also  were  sheltered  the 
English  refugees  from  the  garrisons  of  Neemuch  and  In- 
dore  during  the  mutiny  of  1857.  When  I  made  my  last 
visit  to  the  island  in  order  to  finish  a  sketch,  my  wish  to  see 
it  as  a  spectacular  background  was  realized,  although  the 
performance  did  not  take  place  in  the  great  inner  court. 
On  one  side  of  the  landing  there  is  an  extensive  area  of 
pavement,  one  corner  of  which  is  filled  by  a  group  of 
great  trees  and  a  tangled  thicket  of  bananas,  separated 
from  the  platform  by  a  low  stone  lattice  ;  a  temple-like 
edifice,  with  sculptured  columns  supporting  a  low  flat  roof, 
stands  on  the  extreme  verge,  and  between  the  columns 
there  is  a  view  of  the  shining  water  and  the  wooded 
hills  beyond.  One  of  the  great  state  barges,  with  high 
bow  and  poop,  like  the  old  Greek  galleys,  was  anchored 
at  the  steps,  surrounded  by  a  fleet  of  small  craft,  and  the 
passengers — a  crowd  of  holiday-making  women  and  chil- 
dren from  the  great  palace  across  the  water,  accompanied 
by  their  male  attendants  and  servants — Avere  all  seated  on 
the  pavement.  A  long  shaft  of  sunlight  streamed  through 
the  open  gateway  of  a  garden  behind,  falling  upon  the 
sitting  groups,  kindling  into  vivid  scarlet  the  prevailing 
reds  of  their  costumes,  touching  the  flashing  ornaments 
and  the  rare  spots  of  white,  until  it  resembled  nothing  so 
much  as  a  glowing  parterre  of  geraniums.  When,  by  a 
common  impulse,  the}^  all  rose  and  moved  towards  the 
boats,  there  was  an  indescribable  tumult  of  color,  which 
seemed  to  culminate  when  the  great  barges  floated  slowly 
out,  crowded  with  their  scarlet  and  crimson  freight,  all 


A  REAL   FAIRY-LAND 


283 


in  the  shadow  of  the  tall  trees,  into  the  long  white  re- 
flections, shot  across  with  azure  and  violet  from  the  sky, 
and  beyond  rose  the  palace  walls  and  hanging  gardens  of 
the  white  city.  Something  like  this  combination  was 
attempted  at  the  opera  in  Paris,  \yhen  Zamora  was  given 
nine  years  ago,  and  it  all  seemed  fairy -like,  ideal,  and  alto- 
gether very  superior  to  anything  in  this  matter-of-fact 
world,  so  near  the 
grimy  suburbs  of 
Levallois  -Perret 
and  Asnieres — but 
I  had  not  then 
seen  the  island  of 
Jug  Munder.  A 
prolonged  sojourn 
at  Oudeypore, 
"where  the  emo- 
tional element 
seems  to  survive 
only  in  the  world 
of  color,  might  be- 
come monotonous 
in  the  course  of 
time,  merely  from 
the  absence  of 
anything  ugly  and 
"philistine"  by 
way    of   contrast. 

As  yet  no  "hustlers"  have  disturbed  the  peace  of  the 
white  city,  sleeping  in  the  hollow  of  its  hills;  no  tall 
chimneys  arise  from  the  shore  of  the  lake,  and  there 
is  a  total  dearth  of  saw-mills,  lumber-yards,  and  other 
evidences  of  commercial  activity  ;  no  one  seems  to  manu- 
facture anything,  and  these  placid  heathen  are  still  pain- 


BOY    DECORATING    IDOL    WITH    FLOWEKS 


284  TWO    TWILIGHTS 

fully  ignorant  in  regard  to  socialism,  dynamite  bombs,, 
and  epidemics. 

It  might,  then,  become  tedious  to  follow  always  the 
same  routine :  to  leave  the  island,  as  we  did,  at  sunset;  to 
look  back  at  the  fringe  of  tufted  palms  fading  into  the 
dull  red  of  the  sky;  to  glide  along  under  the  palace  walls; 
to  land  always  at  the  same  water-worn  marble  steps,  and 
drive  back  in  the  twilight  through  the  crowded  bazaar 
and  the  bowers  of  tropical  foliage  in  the  park.  But 
when  one  wearies  of  so  much  repetition  a  telegram  to 
Bombay  will  insure  a  cabin  on  one  of  the  new  fast  boats, 
and  within  eighteen  days  one  may  enjoy  the  wet  winter 
twilight  on  the  boulevards,  under  the  gas  -  jets  and  a 
dripping  umbrella ;  find  the  same  men  in  their  accustomed 
corners  at  the  Salle  d' Amies,  the  same  crowd  of  idlers 
passing  in  and  out  of  the  Cafe  de  la  Paix,  and  hear  again, 
as  of  old,  the  hoarse  cries  of  the  news  venders :  "  Re- 
sultats  complets  des  courses  !"  Possibly  his  surroundings^ 
may  gain  in  value  with  the  souvenir  of  Oudeypore  as  a 
foil. 

V 
No  better  spot  could  be  found  than  this  city  in  which  to- 
observe  the  ways  of  high-caste  native  life.  As  I  remem- 
ber the  resplendent  personages  who  came  to  make  brief 
visits  of  ceremony  or  to  pay  their  respects  to  some  passing 
notability  of  official  or  diplomatic  rank,  the  glittering 
bravery  of  their  attire  and  the  elaborate  trappings  of 
their  horses,  the  inimitable  twist  of  their  blue-back  beards, 
and  the  deferential  grace  of  their  "  salaams,"  carefully 
graded  to  the  correct  degree,  the  melancholy  truth  is 
borne  in  upon  me  that  the  "  dude  "  of  Western  descent  is, 
after  all,  but  a  crude  and  unfinished  production — in  fact, 
he  is  "not  in  it  at  all."     The  term  Western,  used  in  this- 


A  NOTEWORTHY  TOILET 


285 


connection,  and  from  the  standpoint  of  Rajpootana,  is 
sweepingly  comprehensive.  When  arrayed  in  his  court 
dress,  and  mounted  on  his  horse  caparisoned  with  corre- 
sponding splendor,  the  Rajpoot  noble  is  at  his  best,  and  in 
the  full  fflare  of  sunlio^ht  he  is  decorative  to  a  dazzHnjr 
degree.  One  toilet  which  I  had  the  opportunity  of 
studying  in  detail  might  have  furnished  sufficient  inspira- 
tion to  Worth  for  an  entire  series  of  fresh  "  creations." 
The  scheme  of  color,  as  a  whole,  might  be  termed  a 
"  symphony  "  in  white,  relieved  by  color  sparingly  used, 
and  by  the  sparkle  of  gems.  The  wearer  of  this  costume, 
who  appeared  thus  attired  on  state  occasions  only,  was  a 


IS    THE    HAZAU,   OlDEYPORE 


286  GORGEOUS  ADORNMENTS 

young  man  of  twenty,  and  sat  his  horse  like  a  white  statue. 
A  long-skirted  tunic  or  frock  of  white  muslin,  close-fitting 
white  trousers,  and  a  rose-colored  turban  with  a  broad 
band  of  gold  lace  and  tall  flashing  plume  of  dark  heron 
feathers  and  gold  filagree  were  the  salient  points.  Other 
accessories  were  the  sword-belt,  crossing  his  breast  and 
encircling  his  waist,  of  dark  green  velvet,  richly  worked 
with  unalloyed  gold,  and  thickly  studded  with  emeralds, 
rubies,  and  brilliants ;  a  transparent  yellow  shield  of 
rhinoceros  hide,  with  knobs  of  black  and  gold  enamel ;  a 
sash  of  stiff  gold  lace,  with  a  crimson  thread  running 
through  the  gold;  bracelets  of  the  dainty  workmanship 
known  as  Jeypore  enamel  thickly  jewelled,  which  he 
wore  on  his  wrists  and  arms ;  and  there  Avere  strings  of 
dull,  uncut  stones  about  his  neck.  The  skirts  of  his  tunic 
were  pleated  with  many  folds,  and  stood  stiffly  out,  like 
the  skirts  of  a  "  premiere  danseuse "  in  the  ballet ;  and 
when  he  mounted  his  horse  a  servant  on  each  side  held 
them  so  that  they  might  not  be  crushed.  Four  valets 
had  charge  of  tliis  costume,  and  it  took  them  some  little 
time  to  array  their  master.  The  trappings  of  the  horse 
were  scarcely  less  elaborate ;  his  neck  was  covered  on  one 
side  with  silver  plates,  and  his  mane,  which  hung  on  the 
other  side,  was  braided,  and  lengthened  by  black  fringes 
relieved  by  silv^er  ornaments.  White  yaks'  tails  hung 
from  beneath  the  embroidered  saddle  cover  on  both  sides ; 
and  his  head,  encased  in  a  headstall  of  white  enamelled 
leather  and  silver,  topped  with  tall  aigrettes,  was  tied 
down  by  an  embroidered  scarf  in  order  to  give  his  neck 
the  requisite  curve.  The  idea  of  the  pendant  yaks'  tails 
is  an  old  one,  and  they  probably  served  in  the  first  in- 
stance as  fly- brushes,  being  always  in  motion  with  the 
movements  of  the  horse ;  but  increased  in  number,  they 
serve  the  double  purpose  of  helping  the  decorative  effect 


THE  ASSYRIAN  TYPE 


287 


and  keeping  the  rider's  skirts  from  being  soiled.  Tlie 
e very-day  dress  of  this  gentleman  was  far  more  quiet  in 
tone ;  but  he  seldom  appeared  twice  in  the  same  turban, 
which  was  of  quite  a  different  shape  from  that  worn  with 
the  state  costume,  being 
small  and  closely  folded, 
and  it  constantly  varied  in 
color. 

One  of  the  most  striking 
and  characteristic  faces  be- 
longed to  an  officer  of  high 
rank  who  called  at  the 
Residency  in  the  company 
of  the  Maharana's  brother, 
and  it  may  be  described  as 
typifying,  like  a  composite 
photograph,  the  higher 
Rajpoot  race.  This  face, 
when  seen  in  profile,  close- 
ly resembled  the  type  of 
the  Assyrian  warriors  and 
courtiers  on  the  bass-reliefs 
of  Xineveh  :  there  was  the 

same  straight  line  of  the  forehead  and  nose,  and  the  long, 
narrow  eye,  with  full  projecting  eyeball,  which  appears  in 
the  bass-reliefs  to  be  either  out  of  drawing,  or  to  be  greatly 
conventionalized,  but  which  probably  rendered  the  lead- 
ing race  characteristics  with  a  certain  degree  of  accuracy. 
This  modern  prototype  of  the  Assyrian  wore  his  jet-black 
beard  horizontally  trained  to  follow  the  upward  twist  of  his 
curled  mustaches,  and  his  tunic  or  caftan,  of  purple  silk  em- 
broidered with  a  palm-leaf  design  in  dull  gold,  fitted  him 
so  tightly  as  to  accentuate  the  rotundity  of  his  pei*son, 
as  he  was,  to  draw  it  mildly,  inclined  to  fulness  of  habit. 


RAI    MKTA    PANNA    LAL,  PRIMK-MINISTER 


288  A  MIXED  COSTUME 

Another  representative  of  the  same  exclusive  order, 
whom  I  chanced  to  meet  just  as  he  was  taking  his  leave, 
being  on  his  way  to  join  the  Maharana's  hunting-party, 
had  quite  the  same  profile,  and  a  still  more  pronounced 
upward  curl  of  beard  and  mustache.  He  was  the  ruler 
of  a  neighboring  state,  and  a  dark  jewelled  turban  was 
his  only  mark  of  rank.  His  elephant  was  waiting  on  the 
gravelled  walk,  and  as  his  master  descended  the  steps 
the  great  beast  knelt  for  him  to  mount.  These  "  mash- 
ers "  of  ancient  lineage  do  not  shine  with  the  same  splen- 
dor in  European  dress.  In  this  respect  they  are  not  as  apt 
as  the  Japanese — which,  however,  is  not  much  to  their  dis- 
credit— and  two  centuries  of  contact  with  the  best  Ens- 
lish  models  have  not  taught  them  to  wear  their  costume 
successfully.  There  is  a  sort  of  "  compromise,"  a  sport- 
ing costume,  in  which  the  English  element  is  limited  to  a 
tweed  jacket  or  blouse,  and  which  is  rather  effective. 
Could  we  look  back  a  few  centuries,  not  to  go  further 
than  the  Norman  conquest,  to  a  time  when  but  few 
families  of  the  governing  race  had  emerged  from  ob- 
scurity, and  when  the  Plantagenets  were  still  parvenus, 
we  should  undoubtedly  find  this  long-eyed,  black-bearded 
gentry  living  in  much  the  same  fashion  as  to-day,  and 
wearing  the  same  elaborate  and  glittering  costumes, 
which,  if  we  may  judge  by  the  old  paintings  and  por- 
traits -which  have  come  down  to  us,  have  not  changed  in 
any  essential  particular  since  the  days  of  Tamerlane. 
The  Mogul  emperors,  who  were  descended  from  that 
conqueror  of  kings,  much  as  they  would  have  liked  to 
exterminate  the  Avhole  Hajpoot  race,  seem  to  have  adopted 
their  costume  with  but  slight  modifications.  Sir  Thomas 
Roe  describes  at  great  length  the  costume  of  his  Majesty 
on  the  occasion  of  a  "  durbar :"  "  On  his  head  he  wore 
a  rich  Turbant,  with  a  plume  of  home  (heron)  tops,  not 


FREE  FROM   CARE  289 

many  but  long ;   .  .  .  his  coat  of  cloath  of  Gold,  without 
sleeves,  upon  a  fine  semian  as  thin  as  Laune." 

We  find  them  to-day  living  in  much  the  same  fashion 
as  in  the  days  of  Sir  Thomas  Roe ;  going  out  to  hunt 
with  trains  of  vassals — "  shikar  coolies  "  is  the  correct  term 
now — or  sleeping  away  the  long,  hot  hours  of  the  day  in 
the  wind-swept  upper  retreats  of  their  lofty  palaces ;  but 
with  this  difference :  that  in  those  days  their  periods  of 
luxurious  idleness  were  relieved  by  periods  of  fierce  war- 
fare, of  hard  riding,  and  cattle  -  lifting  border  forays. 
Xow  that  these  dissipations  are  no  longer  to  be  had,  and 
a  paternal  government  relieves  them  of  the  necessity  of 
staying  at  home  to  guard  their  territories  from  the  en- 
croachments of  jealous  neighbors,  they  may,  b}^  way  of 
contrast  and  compensation,  pack  their  trunks  with  Eng- 
lish outfits  and  sail  for  Brindisi.  Laying  aside  the  dress 
and  the  ways  of  their  caste  for  a  time,  they  may  aston- 
ish the  idlers  at  Vichy  or  Homburg  with  fetes  which 
will  be  described  at  length  in  the  Gil  Bias,  become  the 
lions  of  a  London  season,  or,  if  their  appetite  for  social 
distinction  craves  newer  fields,  even  Xewport  will  not 
close  its  doors  to  them.  Notwithstanding  the  bejewelled 
daintiness  of  their  attire,  which  might  seem  to  imply  a 
certain  degree  of  effeminacy,  many  of  them  are  experts 
with  a  boar  spear  or  an  express  rifle.  The  present  ^Ma- 
harana  is  said  to  be  an  adept  in  the  slaying  of  tigers. 
Throughout  liis  dominions  they  are  preserved  for  his  own 
sport,  and  he  frequently  exposes  himself  to  considerable 
personal  risk,  having  determined  apparently  to  leave  very 
few  for  his  successor.  The  royal  emblem  of  Oudeypore 
is  the  Rising  Sun,  and  its  rulers  have  always  styled  them- 
selves "  children  of  the  sun,"  as  they  claim  descent  from 
the  great  luminary  himself.  Says  Rousselet  in  his  Inde 
des  Bajahs :  "  If  we  compare  the  antiquity  and  the  illus- 


290  GENEALOGICAL  PRIDE 

trious  origin  of  the  dynasties  which  have  reigned  or 
which  still  have  sway  over  the  different  states  of  Rajas- 
than  with  the  most  celebrated  dynasties  of  Europe,  it  is 
easy  to  see  that  the  superiority  remains  incontestably  with 
the  Rajpoots.  Already  the  masters  of  a  great  empire  in 
the  first  centuries  of  our  era,  we  see  them  still  reigning 
over  vast  and  rich  provinces,  in  the  midst  of  cities  em- 
bellished with  superb  monuments,  even  in  the  time  when 
a  few  half-civilized  tribes  in  the  West  elected  their  first 
chiefs.  The  powerful  Jehanghir,  the  Mogul  Emperor, 
was,  like  Csesar,  a  commentator,  but  upon  the  history  of 
the  Sesodias.  The  supreme  arbiter  over  twenty  -  two 
satrapies  of  India  enlarges  with  pride  upon  the  treaty 
which  he  made  with  the  Rana.  He  thanked  Heaven 
for  having  reserved  for  him  the  success  which  neither 
his  immortal  ancestor  Baber,  the  founder  of  the  Mogul 
dynasty,  nor  Houmayun  could  obtain,  and  which  his 
father,  the  illustrious  Akbar  himself,  had  only  partially 
achieved.  The  poorest  Rajpoot  of  our  day,  thanks  to 
the  genealogy  of  his  clan,  may  trace  his  origin  back  to 
the  point  from  which  it  separates  from  the  principal 
trunk,  and  beyond  that  to  the  common  beginning,  which, 
according  to  the  most  authentic  traditions,  goes  back  at 
least  fifteen  centuries.  And  with  what  pride  he  points, 
out  that  his  order  is  unstained  by  any  misalliance  with 
the  Moguls !"  Mr.  Fateh  Lai  Mehta,  the  young  son  of 
the  Prime  Minister  or  "Dewan,"  who  has  written  a 
guide-book  in  English  to  Oudeypore,*  says :  "  The  ruling 
chief  is  considered  to  be  the  direct  representative  of 
Rahma,  from  whom  was  descended  Kanaksen,  who  was- 
the  founder  of  the  Oudeypore  family,  about  144  a.d.  .  .  . 


*  Hand-book  of  Meywar,  and  Guide  to  Its  Principal  Objects  of  Interest.. 
By  Fateh  Lai  Mehta.    Bombay :  Times  of  India  Press. 


VERY  EXCLUSIVE 


291 


Ko  state  in  India  made  a  more  courageous  or  more  pro- 
longed resistance  to  the  Mahommedans  than  Oudeypore. 
It  is  the  boast  of  tlie  family  that  they  never  gave  a 
daughter  in  marriage  to  any  of  the  Mahommedan  em- 
perors. They  belong  to  the  Sesodia  sect  of  the  great 
Gehlot  clan,  often  called  the  nobles  of  the  Rajpoots." 

The  present  Maharana  is  entitled  Maharana  Dhiraz, 
Maharana  Sahib  Shree — Fateh  Sing  ji  Bahadur,  G.C.S.I. 
He  is  given  a  salute  of  nineteen   guns,  "  but   the   late 


FATEH    LAI.    MEUTA,  OF    OlDKYPORE,  IN    COrRT    DRF.SS 


292  REAL  BLUE  BLOOD 

ruler,"  says  Mr.  Fateli  Lai,  "  was  entitled  to  a  personal 
salute  of  twenty-one  guns."  Like  other  Indian  princes, 
he  has  a  standing  army,  but  it  is  not  at  present  on  a  war 
footing,  and  does  not  therefore  represent  the  available 
strength  of  his  province.  It  is  divided  into  four  parts: 
one  Regular,  one  Irregular,  an  Orderly  (or  personal) 
Guard,  and  the  City  Police.  The  regulars  only  num- 
ber about  seven  hundred  men  at  present,  and  are  uni- 
formed, drilled,  and  equipped  like  the  English  troops. 
The  irregulars  are  nearly  three  thousand  in  number, 
including  six  hundred  cavalry.  The  guard  has  about  five 
hundred  men,  and  the  police  four  hundred  and  forty, 
which  seems  amply  sufficient  for  a  city  of  50,000  inhabi- 
tants.* 

The  lesser  chiefs  and  rajahs  perform  feudal  service, 
quite  as  it  was  done  in  Europe  during  the  Middle  Ages, 
sending  in  their  horsemen  and  soldiers  to  the  district 
headquarters.  Should  any  sceptic  have  private  doubts 
as  to  the  authenticity  of  their  descent  from  the  sun,  or 
even  from  the  god  Rahma,  to  come  down  to  later  days, 
the  "  hoary  antiquity "  of  the  race,  in  comparison  with 
anything  west  of  Suez,  is  beyond  dispute,  and  one  would 
have  to  go  a  long  way  back  at  least  in  order  to  find  the 
"ancestor  in  shirt  sleeves,"  or  the  grandfather  who  was 
forced  b}'  stress  of  circumstances  to  found  his  line  in  a 
penal  colony.  If  in  this  age  of  social  scepticism  it  be 
conceded  that  a  privileged  and  gilt-edged  order  has  any 
raison  cVttre,  where  could  we  find  another  as  genuine, 
and,  withal,  as  picturesque?  According  to  our  own  stand- 
ards, the  Rajpoot  caste  may  well  lay  claim  to  the  suprem- 
acy.    It  is  not  only  in  the  matter  of  clothes   that  the 


*  The  most  reliable  authority  states  that  the  Maharana's  troops  num- 
ber about  5000  infantry  and  1200  cavalry,  with  six  pieces  of  artillery. 


A  LOTUS-EATER 


293 


gommenx  of  this  order  is  pre-eminent,  for  he  excels  all 
other  rivals  in  the  art  of  doing  nothing  gracefully,  an  art 
which  is  a  part  of  his  rightful  inheritance;  and  there  is  no 
trace  in  him  of  the  nervous  unrest  and  hurry,  which  have 
been  handed  down, 
tog-ether  with  the 
wealth,  of  the  more 
energetic  ancestor  to 
his  descendants.  It 
will  be  a  matter  of 
regret  from  more 
than  one  point  of 
view  when  these 
last  representatives 
of  feudality  shall 
have  become  utterly 
and  hopelessly  mod- 
ernized ;  whei),  in 
their  ambition  to  be 
abreast  of  the  times, 
in  this  latter  end  of 
the  centur}',  they 
shall  have  put  aside 

their  hereditary  manner  of  life,  with  the  pomp  and  state 
which  can  nowhere  be  studied  to  better  advantage  than 
here  in  Outleypore. 

Under  a  more  despotic  tutelage  than  that  of  the  vice- 
regal government,  all  these  things,  their  prerogatives, 
as  well  as  their  outward  emblems  of  rank,  would  prob- 
ably have  been  loug  since  swept  away.  AVhile  the 
present  regime  lasts  they  will  continue  to  be  in  a  meas- 
ure the  arbiters  of  their  own  destinies,  but  abundant 
evidence  is  not  wanting  to  show  that  their  conservatism 
in  these  matters  of  externals  is  being  slowlv  and  insid- 


THK    MAHARAXA 


294  UP  TO  DATE 

iously  undermined;  that  many  of  them  now  prefer  the 
modern  luxury  of  their  renaissance  or  rococo  villas,  fur- 
nished and  upholstered  by  some  firm  on  the  Boulevard 
des  Capucines,  to  the  steep  winding  passages  and  latticed 
"miradors"  of  the  moated  palace,  and  the  dashing  tan- 
dem to  the  lacquered  palanquin  or  gilded  howdah  of 
the  traditional  elephant.  Nowhere  in  the  world  does 
there  exist  a  more  progressive  country  than  the  "New 
India,"  or  one  where  existing  conditions  change  more 
rapidly.  Already  these  little  feudal  states  are  being 
hemmed  in  and  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  its  advanc- 
ing lines ;  some  of  them  are  already  kindled  into  action, 
and  it  is  but  a  question  of  time  with  the  others.* 


VI 

Dr.  John  Fryer,  who  visited  India  in  the  year  1672, 
described  the  wonderful  things  which  he  saw  in  a  man- 
ner often  inflated  and  verbose,  but  sometimes  graphic 
and  quite  to  the  point,  as  in  the  description  of  an 
elephant : 

".  .  .  Alighting  from  our  Palenkeens,  they  loosed  one 
which  was  Fourteen  Feet  high,  and  the  Black,  clawing 
his  Poll  with  an  Iron  Engine,  he  stooped  down  for  him 
to  get  up,  and  being  upon  his  back,  guided  him  as  he 
lifted.  His  Body  is  a  symetrical  Deformity  (if  I  may  so 
say) ;  the  Hanches  and  Quarters  clapt  together  seem  so 
many  heaps;  his  neck  short,  slapping  ears  like  Scates,  little 
Eyed,  a  broad  Face,  from  which  drops  his  Proboscis  or 

*Oudeypore,  as  well  as  other  states  of  Rajpootana,  after  having 
long  suffered  from  the  tyranny  of  the  Mogul  Empire,  fell  a  prey  to 
the  Mahrattas,  and  was  only  saved  from  utter  ruin  and  extinction  by 
the  protection  of  the  British  Government,  which  was  extended  to  it  iu 
the  early  part  of  this  century. 


MY  MODEL  295 

Trunk,  thrusting  it  out,  or  shriveling  it  in  as  he  choses; 
through  its  hollow  he  sucks  his  Liquor,  and  with  two  Fin- 
gers, as  it  were,  reaches  his  Fodder,  shaking  off  the  dirt 
against  his  Thigh,  or  Vermin,  such  as  mice,  which  he  ab- 
hors, he  brings  it  under  to  his  mouth,  from  whence  proceed 
two  huge  Tusks  of  Ivory  for  Defence,  not  mastication,  for 
which  he  is  supplied  within  with  others ;  his  Tail  is  curt ; 
he  shuffles  an  end  a  great  Pace,  moving  all  the  Joints  of 
his  Legs,  though  the  Motion  of  his  Hinder-Legs  imitate 
Human  Progression,  having  a  Patella  or  Knee-Pan  afore, 
not  articulated  behind  as  other  four-footed  Beasts  are. 
When  he  stands,  his  legs  appear  so  many  columns,  scol- 
loped at  bottom,  being  flat-hoof  d."  The  learned  doctors 
description  of  the  elephant's  gait  is  inimitable. 

Early  one  morning  the  servants  at  the  Residency  were 
all  excited  by  the  arrival  of  one  of  the  Maharana's  ele- 
phants arrayed  in  his  gala  dress ;  he  Avas  rolling  along 
at  a  "  Great  Pace,  moving  all  the  Joints  of  his  Legs,"  and 
looking,  as  he  proceeded,  very  much  foreshortened,  up  the 
gravel  walk,  like  a  great  golden  idol.  He  was  followed 
by  his  footmen  and  valets  to  the  number  of  a  dozen,  who 
were  likewise  resplendent  in  immaculate  white  muslin, 
and  they  all  carried  flags  of  gold  tissue.  There  was  a 
momentary  hitch  in  his  stately  progress,  as  the  horizontal 
branches  of  a  tree  interfered  with  his  top  hamper,  and 
presently  he  came  to  a  standstill  at  the  foot  of  the  steps, 
holding  out  his  hand,  like  a  mere  circus  elephant,  for 
saccharine  backsheesh  of  some  kind.  This  was  the 
elephant  which  had  been  promised  as  a  model,  and  he 
was  conducted  to  a  grass  plot  behind  the  house,  where  the 
white  wall  of  the  terrace  made  a  good  background. 

I  have  never  j^et  met  with  an  elephant  who  posed 
well  or  willingly  ;  he  is  forever  turning,  twisting,  and 
shifting  his  weight,  first  on  one  foot,  then  on  the  other. 


296  IN  HOLIDAY  ATTIRE 

Then  he  spreads  his  legs  apart  or  sways  from  side  to 
side,  industriously  foraging  meanwhile  in  the  dirt  with 
his  trunk,  sidling  up  a  little  nearer  to  watch  one's  pro- 
ceedings out  of  the  corner  of  his  little  eye,  and  at  this 
moment  it  is  wise  to  move  farther  off.  Then  he  turns 
his  back  entirely,  and  is  only  to  be  brought  into  posi- 
tion again  by  repeated  digs  with  the  "  Iron  Engine," 
which,  I  take  it,  means  the  mahout's  steel  prod.  This 
elephant  wore  a  magnificent  robe  of  dark  velvet,  thickly 
incrusted  with  embroidery  of  gold  bullion,  and  fringed 
with  silk  tassels ;  a  small  carpet  more  delicately  em- 
broidered with  the  same  material  hung  from  each  side  of 
the  howdah  ;  he  wore  a  head-cover  or  frontispiece  of  dark 
green  silk  nearly  black,  starred  with  gold,  and  on  the 
very  top  of  his  head  sat  two  little  burnished  lions 
crested  with  glittering  plumes ;  two  long  pendants  of 
black  and  gold  tinsel  hung  from  the  brazen  tips  of  his 
tusks,  and  two  others  hung  behind  his  ears.  The  double- 
seated  howdah  or  chariot  on  his  back  was  carved  and 
sculptured  with  arabesques  framing  bass-reliefs  of  mytho- 
logical divinities,  all  burnished,  gilded,  and  glittering,  like 
the  chains  w^hich  crossed  his  forehead,  or  ornaments 
which  hung  about  his  neck,  and  the  bracelets  of  bells 
around  his  ankles  kept  up  a  continual  jingle  with  his 
restless  movements.  Even  the  mahout  who  sat  on  his 
head  was  sumptuously  attired,  and  as  a  last  touch  of 
coquetterie  a  shawl  of  green  and  gold  silk  tissue  was 
thrown  negligently  over  the  railing  of  the  howdah. 

But  however  lavishly  the  elephant's  overcoat  may  be 
adorned  with  tinsel  and  gold  and  jewels,  his  tailors  have 
never  thought  it  worth  while  to  cover  up  the  unseemly, 
disreputable,  and  ill-fitting  pair  of  trousers  which  nature 
has  given  him.  When  he  shuffles  away  and  shows  the 
nether  side  of  his  continuations  of  greasy  leather,  they 


A  SUBTERFUGE  297 

are  seen  to  be  worn,  creased,  and  baggy  at  the  knees,  and 
altogether  out  of  keeping  with  the  splendor  above  and 
in  front.  On  the  second  morning,  when  my  model  came 
for  a  final  seance,  he  was  accompanied  by  the  cliief 
of  the  elephant  stables,  a  man  of  authoritative  and  hir- 
sute aspect,  and  I  was  not  surprised  to  hear,  knowing  a 
little  of  the  intricate  workings  of  the  Hindoo  mind,  that 
the  elephant  had  shown  symptoms  of  lameness,  and  was 
quite  unable  to  stand.  One  of  his  ponderous  fore-feet, 
in  fact,  was  carefully  tied  up  in  a  piece  of  canvas,  and 
I  could  not  for  a  moment  doubt  that  this  driver  had 
become  heartily  tired  of  sitting  up  there  in  the  sun  and 
trying  to  keep  his  charge  in  the  same  position. 

The  Oriental  mind  seems  to  consider  the  function  of 
painting  as  a  highly  concentrated  and  summary  means  of 
producing  photographs,  and  when  the  sitter,  whether 
man  or  beast,  has  posed  for  full  ten  minutes,  he  begins 
to  fidget  at  the  protracted  delay.  It  was  the  custom  in 
old  days  for  these  royal  elephants  to  wear  armor,  and 
to  carry  their  mastei^  into  battle.  One  of  these  capar- 
isons, which  is  still  preserved,  consists  of  a  head -piece 
and  quilted  robe,  thickly  covered  with  steel  scales  over- 
lapping each  other  like  the  scales  of  a  fish.  Dr.  John 
Fryer  saw  a  regiment  of  war  elephants  equipped  in  this 
manner.  Another  way  in  which  the  court  elephant  was 
utilized,  now  happily  done  away  with,  was  to  make  him 
the  executioner  of  criminals.  The  unlucky  wight  con- 
demned to  the  "  punishment  of  the  elephant,"  having  first 
been  bound  hand  and  foot,  was  attached  by  a  long  chain 
to  his  hind  leg,  and  the  elephant  was  then  driven  through 
the  streets  of  the  town  ;  when  the  culprit  survived  this 
ordeal  his  head  was  laid  on  a  block,  and  the  elephant 
put  his  fore-foot  gently  down  on  it.  It  must  have  been 
this  performance  to  which  Sir  Thomas  Hoe  refers  when 


298  A  WALK   TO  CHITOR 

describing  the  emperor's  method  of  administering  justice: 
"  On  Tuesday  at  the  Jarrneo  [which  was  a  window  at 
which  he  showed  himself  to  the  people]  he  sits  in  judg- 
ment, never  refusing  the  poorest  man's  complaint,  when 
he  hears  with  patience  both  parts,  and  sometimes  sees, 
with  too  much  delight  in  blood,  the  execution  done  by 
his  elephants.     Illi  inernere^  sed  quid  tu  ut  adesses  V 


VII 

In  order  to  visit  Chitor  it  is  customary  to  petition  for 
an  elephant  to  cover  the  short  distance  between  the  dak 
bungalow  near  the  railway  station  and  the  great  hill  fort. 
But  as  the  elephant  is  exasperatingly  slow,  and  the  dis- 
tance is  short,  the  writer  preferred  to  walk.  In  the  per- 
fect weather  physical  exertion  of  any  sort  was  a  luxury, 
and  particularly  after  the  lazy  life  of  Oudeypore.  The 
only  drawback  to  one's  perfect  peace  of  mind  was  the 
reflection  that  many  people  in  India  have  a  belief  that 
this  exercise  derogates  from  the  dignity  of  a  European, 
and  natives  cannot  yet  understand  why  one  should  walk 
when  he  can  by  any  possibility  ride. 

As  we  set  out  in  the  morning  an  elephant  passes  us, 
ploughing  majesticall}''  through  the  low  bushes,  but  we  do 
not  want  him,  and  we  shall  arrive  at  the  summit  of  the 
ridge  by  a  short-cut  much  sooner,  although  Motee  casts 
longing  glances  at  his  comfortable  back.  There  is  one 
wide  river  to  cross,  spanned  by  a  stately  but  dilapidated 
bridge,  which  begins  far  inland,  and  there  is  also  a  shorter 
way  by  which  we  cross  the  shallow  river-bed  on  stepping- 
stones.  On  the  road  beyond  we  pass  an  itinerant  juggler 
with  a  couple  of  trained  monkeys ;  he  had  halted  by  the 
stone  parapet,  and  was  endeavoring  to  teach  his  unwilling 
pupils  some  new  trick.     Near  the  road-side  there  is  a  col- 


SCULPTURED   FRIEZES 


299 


lection  of  black  tents,  which  are  peopled  with  other  vaga- 
bond gypsies  with  other  trained  monkeys. 

And  then  Ave  straggle  up  through  the  main  bazaar  of  a 
little  town  at  the  very  foot  of  the  steep  wooded  bluff ;  and 
here  begins  the  rocky  path,  which  we  follow,  to  the  great 
discomfort  of  Motee,  until  it  intercepts  the  paved  causeway 
leading  up  to  the  gates  of  Chitor.  There  are  several  gate- 
ways before  we  reach,  after  many  angular  turns,  the  great 
portal  at  the  summit,  called  the  "  Ram  Pol " ;  it  is  en- 
riched with  sculpture,  and  long  processional  friezes  of 
horses  and  elephants 
are  wrought  along  the  ,,.--,-. 
base  of  the  round 
towers  and  the  stone 
platforms  on  either 
side.  Here  there  is  a 
guard  of  the  Maha- 
rana's  soldiers  uni- 
formed in  yellow  ''kar- 
kie  drill."  Beyond 
this  gate  there  is  a  lit- 
tle village  among  the 
trees  and  debris  of 
temples,  and  then  we 
enter  at  once,  by  paths 
overgrown  with  jun- 
gle and  briers,  the 
precinct  of  the  desert- 
ed capital. 

By  a  route  which  ascends  sharply  on  the  right  we  reach 
the  ruins  of  the  Rana's  palace  ;  although  only  the  roofless 
walls  have  been  left  standing,  and  nothing  remains  of  the 
original  pile  but  a  hollow  shell,  one  may  still  form  a  fairly 
just  idea  of  its  former  extent.     Several   tiers  of  square 


I  V\Cf 


Jl'GGLER    WITH    TRAINED    MONKEYS 


300  HINDOO  ARCHITECTURE 

projecting  bay-windows  rise  one  above  the  other,  each 
window  having  two  columns  supporting  its  roof ;  and 
they  are  almost  the  exact  counterparts  of  the  windows  in 
the  mosques  of  Ahmedabed,  built  of  the  same  tawny 
stone,  and  having  similar  designs  in  the  narrow  courses  or 
bands  of  ornamental  stone-work  which  relieve  the  plain 
wall  surfaces.  There  are  no  curves  in  this  early  (or  late) 
Hindoo  architecture ;  everything  is  square  and  angular,  but 
at  the  same  time  it  is  far  from  being  heavy  in  its  general 
effect.  The  great  horizontal  limbs  of  ancient  trees  pro- 
trude through  the  windows  and  reach  over  the  upper  battle- 
ments. Although  this  edifice  is  known  as  the  palace  of 
the  Rana  Khourabou,  he  is  now  believed  to  have  added 
only  a  few  portions.* 

One  of  the  most  interesting  groups  of  temyjles  stands 
almost  on  the  extreme  verge  of  the  high  ridge,  whence  one 
may  look  far  away  over  the  cloud-flecked  plains  towards 
the  distant  hills  of  Oudej'pore.  One  feels  that  the  storms 
of  many  monsoons  have  beaten  directly  upon  them,  for 
the  trees  on  the  bluff  are  low  and  twisted  by  the  wind, 
and  the  walls  which  face  the  west,  with  the  interstices  of 
the  sculpture,  are  inky  black,  while  the  friezes  of  statu- 
ettes in  high  relief  gleam  like  yellow  ivory  against  black 
velvet.  In  some  places  one  has  to  force  his  way  through 
a  tangle  of  briers  and  undergrowtli  to  get  a  nearer  view 
of  them.  As  in  all  Hindoo  work  of  that  epoch,  the  human 
figure  is  more  or  less  conventionalized,  but  in  one  temple, 
the  finest  of  this  group,  nature  is  interpreted  with  less 
formality  and  with  greater  realism  of  detail.  These  long 
friezes  of  statuettes  which  girdle  the  exterior  walls  for  the 
most  part  represent  dancing  "  bayaderes "  or  "  Nautch 
girls,"  turning  and  twisting,  and  gracefully  writhing  in 

*  The  date  of  its  erection,  according  to  Fergusson,  is  1468-78  a.d. 


ICONOCLASTS  301 

postures  whicli  could  hardly  be  rivalled  by  the  profes- 
sional contortionists  of  to-day,  and  they  triumphantly 
show  that  not  a  phase  of  the  "  serpentine  dance,"  that 
latest  revival  of  the  choregraphic  art,  was  unknown  to 
them.  Some  of  these  ladies,  costumed  like  the  Nautch 
girls  of  to-day,  when  they  beguile  the  native  amateur  with 
dance  and  song,  seem  to  be  making  merry  at  the  expense 
of  the  spectator,  and  might  well  have  exasperated  the 
sombre  "  moollahs  "  of  Akbar's  day.  At  all  events,  they 
convey  in  a  subtle  way  the  vivid  impression  that  the 
faith  of  the  Hindoos  was  not  morbidly  ascetic. 

Although  the  Mussulman  iconoclasts  labored  conscien- 
tiously with  hammer  and  chisel,  and  left  not  a  single 
figure  undefaced,  the  joyous  dancers  would  not  have  fared 
much  better  had  the  conquerors  been  Puritans  of  Crom- 
well's time ;  indeed  they  might  yet  fare  still  worse  should 
the  government  of  India,  like  the  artistic  centres  of  some 
modern  states,  see  fit  to  maintain  a  salaried  fanatic, 
licensed  to  make  war  on  all  art  in  which  nature  is  repre- 
sented "  undraped." 

The  great  Tower  of  Victory,  which  is  the  principal 
landmark  of  Chitor,  stands  near  these  temples,  but  farther 
back  from  the  bluff.  It  appears  to  have  suffered  but  little 
from  time  and  fanaticism,  and  it  is  still  beautiful  and 
complete  as  a  work  of  art.  The  nine  stories  which  make 
up  its  height  are  covered  within,  as  well  as  on  the  outside, 
with  sculptured  figures,  and  square  bay-windows  project 
just  enough  from  each  story  to  diversify  the  outline ;  an 
open  gallery  with  colonnade  supports  the  modern  dome  at 
the  summit.  This  tower  was  erected  to  commemorate 
the  victory  of  the  Rana  Khoumbou  over  Mahmud,  Sultan 
of  Malwa,  in  1439,  and  according  to  Ferguson  "  it  is  a 
pillar  of  victory,  like  that  of  Trajan  at  Rome,  but  in  in- 
finitely better  taste  as  an  architectural  object  than   the 


302  THE   OLD  STORY 

Roman  example."  If  I  remember  rightly,  Fergusson  says 
somewhere  that  ''  the  high-caste  Hindoo  is  almost  incapa- 
ble of  bad  taste."  The  lesser  tower  is  of  greater  antiq- 
uity, having  been  erected  in  the  ninth  century,  and  is  more 
picturesque  and  irregular  in  outline,  while  its  black  and 
weather-worn  exterior,  stained  with  the  rich  tones  of  old 
iron,  offers  a  striking  contrast  to  the  ruddy  color  of  its 
neighbor.  Near  the  great  tower  there  are  steps,  broken, 
irregular,  and  in  places  overgrown  with  weeds,  leading 
down  to  the  deep  and  sunless  pool  called  the  "  Cow's 
IMouth,"  where  the  few  remaining  sculptures  hewn  in  its 
rocky  walls  are  half  concealed  by  rank  and  dripping  vege- 
tation. Somewhere  down  in  its  weird  depths,  in  darkness 
and  slime,  there  once  existed  an  entrance  to  great  subter- 
ranean galleries  now  walled  up.  It  was  here  in  these 
hidden  chambers,  according  to  tradition,  that  the  women 
escaped  bondage  by  voluntary  cremation  at  the  first  capt- 
ure and  sack  of  the  city.* 

The  annals  of  Chitor  teem  with  picturesque  and  dra- 
matic incidents,  Avith  heroic  resistance  and  useless  sacrifice, 
with  savage  barbarity  and  slaughter. 

According  to  authentic  records,  it  has  been  taken  and 
sacked  "  three  and  a  half  times  " ;  the  half  refers  to  the 
first  siege  by  the  Emperor  Alah-ou-din  in  the  thirteenth 
century ;  and  this  siege  resembles  in  some  features  the 
Trojan  war,  as  the  pretext  for  the  war  was  the  beauty 
of  the  Regent's  wife,  a  Cinghalese  princess.  By  strata- 
gem and  treachery  the  Regent  himself  was  captured  and 
held  as  a  hostage,  to  be  exchanged  only  for  the  person  of 
his  princess.  In  order  to  save  the  princess  and  rescue  the 
Regent  at  the  same  time,  the  Rajpoots  resorted  to  a  trick 

*  According  to  the  most  authentic  historians,  the  founder  of  Meywar 
state  was  Bappa  Rawal,  who  settled  at  Chitor  in  728  a.d. 


AN  ORIENTAL  TRICK 


303 


which  quite  paralleled  the  episode  of  the  wooden  horse. 
The  princess  consented  to  sacrifice  her  liberty  in  excliange 
for  that  of  her  husband,  but  on  condition  that  she  might 
bring  with  her  as  far  as  the  Tartar  lines  her  companions 
of  the  zenana  and  the  household  servants.  This  condi- 
tion being  granted,  on  the  following  morning  seven  hun- 
dred litters  and  palanquins  came  down  the  hill  in  the 
train  of  the  princess,  but  their  closely  drawn  curtains  con- 
cealed not  the  ladies  of  the  zenana,  but  the  elite  of  the 
Rajpoot  chivalry.     In  the  confusion  of  the  battle  which 


FRIEZK    OV    KLEIMIANTS    AT    CIIITOR 


followed,  the  Regent  escaped,  but  his  followers  were 
killed  to  a  man,  and  Alah-ou-din  was  so  discouraged  by 
his  own  losses  that  he  raised  the  siege  and  retired.  lie 
returned  ao^ain  some  vears  later,  and  this  time,  after  a 
siege  of  more  than  twelve  years,  he  captured  the  city, 
which  he  proceeded  to  pillage  and  destroy  after  slaugh- 
tering the  inhabitants. 

In  l.'iST  it  was  again  taken  by  the  Sultan  of  (Tuzerat. 
who  destroyed  the  fortifications  with  cannon,  and  blew  up 
the  walls  and  bastions  with  mines,  the  defenders  having 


304  A   DESERTED  CITY 

remained  true  to  their  conservative  principles,  which  led 
them  to  despise  such  modern  inventions.  No  sooner  had 
the  city  been  rebuilt  than  it  was  again  invested  by  Akbar, 
and  destroyed  for  the  last  time.  It  was  then  that  Udey 
Sing,  the  Maharana  of  Meywar,  took  refuge  among  the 
distant  hills  and  founded  the  living  capital,  Oudeypore. 
Since  that  day  Chitor  has  remained,  and  probably  will 
remain  forever,  deserted.  Its  titular  goddess  has  with- 
drawn her  protection ;  no  Eana  has  since  set  foot  within 
its  walls,  and  the  ruined  city  is  still  believed  to  be  under 
a  spell.  It  is  not,  however,  entirely  devoid  of  life ;  women 
and  children  pass  from  time  to  time  along  the  paths 
which  lead  past  the  temples  and  through  the  scrub  to  the 
little  village  near  the  principal  gate.  Some  of  these  paths 
still  preserve  something  of  their  original  character,  and 
show  that  they  were  once  important  thoroughfares,  so 
that  it  is  easy  in  imagination  to  reconstruct  and  people 
the  bazaars  as  they  once  existed.  On  the  side  of  the  hill 
opposite  the  Ram  Pol  gate  and  the  village  there  is  anoth- 
el'  great  gateway,  from  which  an  exceedingly  steep  and 
slippery  paved  causeway  descends  into  a  wild  valley  over- 
grown with  jungle,  and  here  one  may  always  meet  groups 
of  women  laboring  up  the  hill  with  great  loads  of  brush- 
wood and  fagots.  Among  the  temples  which  surround 
the  Cow's  Mouth  there  are  still  priests,  reputed  of  great 
sanctity,  who  perform  the  customary  rites  in  their  tem- 
ples, and  issue  forth  at  the  appearance  of  a  stranger, 
as  avid  of  backsheesh  as  any  of  their  brotherhood  else- 
where.* 

*  One  of  the  strangest  and  most  tragic  incidents  in  the  history  of  this 
state  occurred  about  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  when  the 
beautiful  daughter  of  the  Rana  was  sought  in  marriage  by  the  princes 
of  Jodlipore  and  Jeypore.  In  order  to  put  an  end  to  the  ruinous  wars 
which  ensued  in  consequence  of  their  rivalry,  the  girl  was  poisoned  by 


PAST   NUMBERS  305 

During  the  two  or  three  days  which  I  spent  at  Chitor 
a  strong  dry  wind  blew  from  the  cloudless  west,  stirring 
the  long  tufts  of  yellow  grass,  which  waved  on  the  high 
ledges  of  the  temples  and  on  their  shattered  pyramids, 
and  made  working  difficult  in  any  exposed  situation.  Not- 
withstanding the  ruined  and  desert  character  of  this  open 
hill-top,  its  solitude  is  far  from  being  depressing ;  open  on 
all  sides  to  the  sky.  Hooded  with  light  and  swept  by  the 
wind,  there  is  a  charm  about  the  place  which  may  be  due 
in  part  to  the  festal  spirit  of  its  decoration,  but  much  of 
it  is  owing  to  the  feeling  that  one  has  of  being  high  up, 
and  to  the  glorious  panorama  of  hill  and  plain  which  lies 
spread  out  below  us  on  all  sides.* 

At  sunset  we  left  the  deserted  city,  where  only  the 
mutilated  bayaderes  seem  still  to  live  and  perpetuate  the 
spirit  of  past  revelry,  and  descended  the  hill  towards  the 
railway,  where  the  mail-train  was  to  take  us  to  Bombay, 
and  so  back  to  the  nineteenth  century,  and  the  city  which 
best  represents  the  Jin  de  siecle.  We  crossed  the  old  bridge, 
meeting  a  long  procession  of  laborers  returning  through 
the  fadin":  after-jjlow  to  the  village  at  the  foot  of  the  hill ; 
and  as  we  looked  back  the  long  gray  walls  of  Chitor  stood 
grandly  up  against  the  sky. 

her  father,  and  the  curses  which  were  uttered  by  the  fakirs  against  the 
reigning  family  have  since  been  fulfilled  to  the  letter. 

*  It  should  be  mentioned  that  these  hills  are  inhabited  by  three  abo- 
riginal tribes  having  no  affinity  whatever  with  either  Rajpoots  or  Mus- 
sulmans. Of  these,  Bheels  are  the  most  numerous.  They  were  formerly 
brigands  and  cattle  lifters,  and  still  carry  bows  and  arrows. 


NOTES   OX   IXDIAX   ART 

I 

It  is  only  within  the  last  few  decades  that  the  govern- 
ment of  India  has  realized  the  importance  of  preserving 
the  national  monuments  from  decay,  and  of  restoring 
those  which  have  suffered  from  neglect  and  vandalism. 

Although  it  will  always  remain  a  matter  for  regret 
that  so  many  have  been  swept  away,  much  of  this  appar- 
ently wilful  destruction  was  caused  by  what  at  the  time 
were  considered  militarv  necessities,  as  in  the  fortresses 
of  Agra,  Delhi,  Lahore,  and  Gwalior,  and  a  great  deal  of 
it  may  be  pardoned  when  the  peculiarly  difficult  circum- 
stances with  which  the  conquerors  had  to  contend  in 
earh^  days  are  taken  into  account.  It  should  be  remem- 
bered, also,  that  the  present  widely  extended  state  of 
artistic  culture  among  English-speaking  races  is  of  com- 
paratively recent  growth,  and  it  would  be  somewhat  diflS- 
cult  to  prove  that  prior  to  this  new  awakening  they  had 
reached  as  high  a  level  in  aesthetic  matters  as  the  con- 
quered races  of  India.  Some  future  chronicler  may 
assert,  and  not  without  reason,  that  the  present  rulere  of 
India  have  contributed  but  few  monuments  equal  in 
artistic  value  to  those  which  they  destroyed.  It  is  use- 
less to  dwell  now  on  the  havoc  wrought  by  the  rude  con- 
querors who  came  in  the  service  of  ''  John  Company." 
who  subdued  the  warlike  races  of  India  one  by  one  by 
superior  organization  and  by  sterner  qualities,  and  who 


VANDALISM  307 

made  the  amende  honorable  by  substituting  a  responsible 
government  for  the  despotic  and  capricious  sway  of  the 
Mofifuls  and  their  successors — a  government  which  seems 
to  have  taken  upon  itself  the  heroic  task  of  preparing 
these  widely  differing  races  for  self-government.  In 
those  early  days  of  conquest  and  plunder,  when  horses 
were  stabled  in  memorial  tombs  and  in  palaces,  audience- 
halls  converted  into  powder-magazines,  barracks,  or  offices 
of  district  magnates,  sculptured  colonnades  roughly  board- 
ed up  and  pierced  by  windows,  panels  and  screens  of  ex- 
quisite fret-work  in  sandstone  or  marble  plastered  with 
thick  layei*s  of  stucco  and  whitewashed,  whatever  could 
be  altered  and  adapted  to  the  temporary  use  of  the  con- 
querors Avas  spared,  and  whatever  stood  in  the  way  of 
improvements  was  ruthlessly  torn  down.  In  many  cases 
articles  of  intrinsic  value,  such  as  the  linings  of  marble 
baths,  were  dug  up  and  carried  away,  just  as  Xadir  Shah 
•carried  off  the  Peacock  throne  of  the  emjierors  to  Teheran. 
The  grand  gateway  of  one  of  the  most  imposing  monu- 
ments of  Shah  Jehan's  reign,  the  Jumma  Musjid  of  Agra, 
Avas  pulled  down  during  the  mutiny,  and  a  wide  expanse 
of  railway  tracks,  the  approach  to  the  station,  now  ex- 
tends up  to  the  walls. 

But  a  volume  might  be  filled  with  these  evidences  of 
•early  vandalism,  which  English  architects  and  archa?olo- 
gists  have  deplored  in  unsparing  terms.  It  now  remains 
to  consider  what  has  been  left  and  to  make  the  most  of 
it.  Ample  reparation  is  being  made  to-day  for  the  ruin 
and  mutilation  Avrought  during  the  iron  age  of  English 
rule.  Vast  sums — relatively  vast  when  we  consider  the 
financial  difficulties  with  which  the  government  of  India 
has  had  to  struggle — are  being  spent  by  this  government, 
aided  by  the  native  rulers,  to  prop  uj)  and  restore  the 
decavinij  monuments  which  have  been  considered  worthv 


308 


INTELLIGENT  RESTORATION 


of  restoration.  How  costly 
and  laborious  these  restora- 
tions are,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
Taj-Mahal,  no  one  can  judge 
without  some  knowledge  of 
the  materials  employed  and 
the  processes  involved.  While 
in  Persia  we  find  that  the 
splendid  monuments  of  its 
former  glory  have  been  aban- 
doned to  picturesque  but  lam- 
entable decay,  and  the  public 
buildings  now  erected  have 
little  if  anything  of  the  ancient 
spirit,  in  India,  on  the  con- 
trary, the  native  architects 
and  artisans  are  still  doing 
admirable  work,  not  inferior 
in  respect  to  artistic  detail 
and  finish  to  the  work  of  past 
centuries.  The  repairs  and 
restorations  carried  out  by 
them,  under  intelligent  super- 
vision, have  the  advantage  of  being  done  by  artisans  of  the 
same  race  as  the  original  builders,  who  inherit  the  same 
traditional  methods,  and  are  not,  as  in  the  case  of  the  res- 
torations of  the  Alhambra  and  other  Moorish  remains 
in  Spain,  wrought  by  men  of  an  alien  race  having  little 
S3'^mpathy  with  those  who  designed  them.  Some  years  ago, 
while  repairs  were  in  progress  on  certain  portions  of  the 
palace  within  the  "  Fort "  at  Agra,  the  workmen  engaged 
in  cutting  out  the  little  stars,  hexagons,  or  flowers  of 
stone,  for  the  precious  inlay  of  the  marble  walls,  sat  or 
squatted  on  the  pavement,  each  with  a  tool  like  a  little 


UPPER    GALLERIES    OF    HINDOO    HOUSE 
OF   CARVED   AND    PAINTED    WOOD 


SKILLED   ARTISANS  309 

bow,  but  with  a  fine  wire  in  lieu  of  bowstring,  which  he 
moistened  continually  in  an  earthen  chatty  of  water 
placed  by  his  side.  These  primitive  craftsmen,  nude  to 
the  waist,  bending  over  their  work  as  they  patiently  sawed 
out,  polished,  and  fitted  each  stone  in  its  place  with  the 
care  and  precision  of  jewellers,  must  have  resembled 
their  ancestors  who  built  the  palaces  centuries  ago,  and 
who,  doubtless,  worked  with  the  same  tools ;  for  each 
trade  or  craft  is  hereditary,  and  certain  families  perpet- 
uate from  generation  to  generation  the  mysteries  and 
science  of  their  calling.  Among  the  groups  of  artisans 
who  seem  to  be  living  over  again  a  scene  from  the 
golden  age  of  Mogul  art,  there  were  some  engaged  in 
chiselling  thin  slabs  of  white  marble  into  the  lacelike 
screens  which  fill  the  windows ;  the  pattern,  accurately 
drawn  on  paper,  was  pasted  on  one  side  of  the  slab, 
and  the  interstices  cut  through,  after  which  they  were 
smoothed  over  and  polished. 

These  laborers  appear  to  have  inherited  the  deftness 
and  skill  of  their  ancestors,  and  if  they  are  no  longer  em- 
ployed in  rearing  great  fabrics  like  those  of  the  Mogul 
age,  it  is  only  because  such  structures  have  no  longer  any 
raison  (Fetre,  and  also  because  they  expect  to  be  paid 
nowada3's  in  current  coin,  and  not  with  promises. 

In  the  various  departments  of  decorative  art,  such  as 
the  ornamentation  of  flat  wall  surfaces  with  painted  de- 
signs or  mosaic  tiles,  or  with  sculptured  reliefs  often  hav- 
ing original  and  fanciful  "  motifs,"  we  shall  find  no  less 
latent  vitality  than  in  the  province  of  purely  constructive 
art,  as  the  many  public  buildings,  gateways,  and  other 
memorials,  recently  erected,  bear  eloquent  testimony.  The 
wood-carvers  particularly  have  lost  none  of  their  tradi- 
tional skill,  the  many  industries  in  metal  work,  enamel- 
ling, lacquer  work,  jewelry,  and  embroidery  still  flourish, 


310  INGENIOUS  NATIVES 

and  there  seems  no  reason  for  supposing  that  these  arti- 
sans are  less  capable  than  those  of  past  ages.  And,  in- 
deed, if  one  may  include  other  departments  of  a  more 
utilitarian  nature,  in  which  the  natural  imitative  genius  of 
the  people  has  found  an  outlet,  they  are  the  worthy  suc- 
cessors of  the  clever  Hindoos  described  by  Terry  in  1665, 
who  says,  "  They  are  also  excellent  at  limning,  and  will 
copy  out  any  picture  they  see,  to  the  life.  .  .  .  The  truth 
is,  that  the  natives  of  that  monarchy  are  the  best  apes  for 
imitation  in  the  world,  so  full  of  ingenuity,  that  they  will 
make  any  new  thing  by  pattern,  how  hard  soever  it 
seems  to  be  done ;  and  therefore  it  is  no  marvel  if  the 
natives  there  make  shoes,  boots,  clothes,  linen,  bands  and 
cuffs  of  our  English  fashion,  which  are  all  of  them  very 
much  different  from  their  fashions  and  habits,  and  yet 
make  them  all  exceedingly  neat."  It  is  amusing  to  find 
that  to-day  the  native  is  competing  successfully  with  the 
Englishman  in  the  manufacture  of  artistic  furniture  of 
the  Chippendale  order,  but  made  from  indigenous  woods, 
and  even  underselling  him,  as  one  may  realize  by  walk- 
hm  throuo-h  the  show-rooms  of  the  Parsee  and  Mussul- 
man  furniture  dealers  of  Bombay  inhabiting  the  crowded 
streets  near  the  Crawford  market ;  he  will  also  find  that 
this  competition  extends  to  boots  and  shoes  and  other  ar- 
ticles of  wearing  apparel,  as  in  Terry's  time,  when  it  must 
have  had  far  less  encouragement.  Bird  wood,  in  his  llati- 
ual  of  the  Industrial  Arts  of  India,  laments  the  deteriora- 
tion of  the  hand-made  art  of  India,  by  forced  competition 
with  the  machine-made  imitations  of  Europe,  which  com- 
pels the  native  artisan  to  produce  an  inferior  class  of 
work,  and  which  restricts  him  at  the  same  time  in  his 
choice  of  models.  But  alread  v  the  tide  has  begun  to  turn 
the  other  way,  and  the  increasing  interest  in  decorative 
art  has  led  to  the  protection  and  encouragement  of  these 


WINDOW   IN   THE  PALACE   OF    AMBER,   SHOWING    MARBLE    LATTICE   AND    INLAID  GLAS 

DECORATION 


312  COMPOSITE  STYLES 

various  local  industries  by  the  new  art  schools  of  the  em- 
pire. It  may  be  that  this  view  of  the  matter  is  too  san- 
guine, and  it  may  not  as  yet  be  supported  by  sufficient 
data.  But  certainly  the  influence  of  these  schools,  some 
of  which  are  admirably  officered  and  equipped,  is  far- 
reaching,  and  cannot  fail  in  time  to  produce  the  hoped- 
for  results. 

II 

Setting  aside  the  few  scattered  remains  of  the  Buddhist 
period,  which  have  more  archgeological  than  aesthetic  in- 
terest, the  existing  monuments  may  be  roughly  divided 
into  those  which  are  entirely  Hindoo  in  spirit,  and  which 
have  been  sub-divided  into  the  Dravidian,  Jaina,  and  other 
styles,  those  which  were  erected  during  the  early  period 
of  the  Mussulman  conquest,  showing  a  mixture  of  Mo- 
hammedan and  Hindoo  art,  and  those  of  the  Mogul 
period,  in  which  the  Persian  taste  is  ever3^where  appar- 
ent, with  scarcel}'"  a  trace  of  Hindoo  influence.  Still 
another  class  might  be  made  of  the  more  modern  palaces 
and  other  edifices,  decorated  exteriorly  Avith  ornate  win- 
dows, which  were  ever  s])aringly  used  by  Persian  build- 
ers; there  are  also  traces  of  Arabic  descent  in  many 
of  these  buildings,  so  that  they  constitute  a  style  purely 
local.  In  a  brief  reference  to  so  vast  a  field,  it  can  only 
be  stated  that  the  most  noteworthy  monuments  of  exclu- 
sively Hindoo  taste  are  to  be  found  among  the  temples 
of  southern  and  central  India,  as  at  Yellore,  Peroor,  and 
Madura,  not  to  mention  the  sculptured  caves  and  rock- 
cut  temples  of  A  junta,  Ellore,  and  Elephanta,  all  of  an 
earlier  epoch.  Some  reference  has  been  made  in  a 
former  article  to  the  sculptures  of  Chitor,  and  those  at 
Mount  Abu  might  be  cited  as  representing  the  high- 
water  mark  of  Hindoo  artists  in  marble.     These  temples, 


NOTEWORTHY  STRUCTURES  313 

erected  between  the  eleventh  and  the  fourteenth  centu- 
ries, most  picturesquely  placed  in  a  landscape  of  surpass- 
ing beauty,  give  little  idea,  when  seen  from  without,  of 
the  marvels  of  sculpture  within  their  gray  and  mossy 
walls.  The  series  of  cells  on  either  side  of  the  long  en- 
closure of  one  of  these  temples,  each  preceded  by  a  little 
portico  consisting  of  a  dome  supported  by  columns,  con- 
tain the  choicest  and  most  marvellous  work  of  Hindoo 
sculptors.  The  skilled  and  patient  labor  which  lined 
these  domes  with  figures  of  gods,  with  flowers  and  leaves 
and  wonderful  pendants,  hanging,  as  it  were,  from  their 
centres,  is  little  short  of  miraculous,  and  suggests  the  in- 
genious use  of  ivory  by  Chinese  artisans. 

Xo  less  marvellously  wrought  are  the  columns  with 
sculptured  '*  struts,"  in  lieu  of  arches,  which  support  the 
domes. 

Ill 

In  beofinnino;  what  can  onlv  be  a  desultory  and  incom- 
plete  notice  of  the  principal  monuments  of  Mussulman 
art,  which  are  scattered  through  the  north  of  India,  with 
occasional  centres  farther  south,  as  at  Jawanpore  or  Bija- 
pore,  one  naturally  reverts  to  the  early  period  of  Mo- 
hammedan domination.  Here  we  find  traces  of  Moorish 
as  well  as  of  Persian  influence,  and  the  occasional  curious 
and  interesting  blending  of  these  northern  styles  with 
Hindoo  elements,  as  in  the  province  of  Guzerat.  This 
ground  has  been  thoroughly  studied  by  such  experts 
and  specialists  as  Cunningham  and  Fergusson,  and  the 
latest  treatises  show  an  increasing  respect  and  admira- 
tion for  works  which  combine  such  wonderfully  deco- 
rative qualities  with  dignity  and  often  with  sound  taste. 
A  remarkable  and  rare  use  of  the  Moorish  horseshoe 
arch  occurs  in  the  buildins:  known  as  the  catewav  of 


314 


MOSAICS 


Alah-ou-din  at  old  Delhi,  erected  about  1310.  This  is 
regarded  as  the  most  ornate  example  of  Pathan  work, 
and  is  particularly  interesting  from  the  fact  that,  al- 
though the  general  arrangement  of  the  decorated  sur- 
faces surrounding  each  of  the  arches  (all  four  sides  of 
the  edifice  being  alike,  and  each  having  a  door  in  the 
middle,  with  two  windows  on  each  side)  is  similar  to  that 
of  many  other  Mussulman  buildings,  resembling  in  some 
respects  the  entrances  of  the  mosque  at  Cordova,  many 
of  the  ornamental  details  and  patterns  are  purely  Hindoo, 
and  of  course  peculiar  to  India.  The  mosque  at  Purana 
Kela,  near  Delhi,  is  cited  as  one  of  the  finest  examples  of 
the  Pathan  period.     The  dark  red  stone,  nearly  crimson 

in  places,  which 
is  the  prevailing 
material,  is  re- 
lieved by  bands  of 
marble  surround- 
ing the  great  cen- 
tral arch,  and  the 
interior  of  the 
niche  or  recessed 
doorway  is  curi- 
ously decorated 
with  mosaic, 
which  in  the  mar- 
ble panels  is  in- 
laid with  geomet- 
rical patterns  of 
black  and  red 
stone,  leaving 
only  lines  of  white 
between  the   fig- 

DOORWAY  OP  THE  MOSQUE  OF  PCRANA  KELA,  » 

NEAR  DELii!  urcs.      Thc    ad- 


FUTURE  RESTING-PLACES 


315 


^ 


joining  arches  on 
each  side  are  of 
red  stone  without 
inlay,  thus  con- 
trasting by  their 
simphcity  Nvith  the 
central  arch,  while 
the  two  exterior 
openings  on  each 
side  are  of  plain 
gray  granite.  The 
whole  edifice, 
while  grand  and 
somewhat  severe 
in  effect,  shows  a 
harmonious  diver- 
sity of  color.  The 
noble  group  of 
monuments,  some 
of  them  strangely 
original,  including 
the  remains  at  the 
deserted  capital  of 
Futtehpore-  Sikri, 

which  were  built  during  the  reign  of  Akbar,  are  among 
the  most  interesting  in  all  India. 

The  Mogul  emperors  were  wise  enough  to  realize  that 
if  they  did  not  build  their  own  mausoleums  they  stood 
but  little  chance  of  being  buried  with  fitting  magnifi- 
cence, and  took  a  serious  pleasure  in  rearing  these  stately 
sepulchres.  That  at  Secundra  is  like  a  city  in  itself, 
placed  at  the  end  of  a  vast  parklike  garden ;  and  there 
is  nothing  funereal  in  its  character  or  surroundings,  for 
these  monarchs  had  the  pleasant  Eastern  fashion  of  look- 


GATEWAY    OF    MOSQUE,  FrXTEHPORE-SIKRI 


316  ARTISTIC  STONE   WORK 

ing  cheerfull}'^  forward  to  the  inevitable,  and  made  use  of 
their  mausoleums  while  they  lived  as  pleasure  -  houses, 
and  the  surrounding  gardens  as  appropriate  places  for  al 
fresco  entertainments.  It  was  a  poetic  inspiration  on  the 
part  of  Akbar  to  have  placed  his  tomb  out  in  the  sun- 
shine and  in  the  middle  of  the  wide  marble  court,  with 
only  the  blue  vault  of  heaven  over  it,  and  the  Koh-i-noor 
flashing  like  a  star  from  the  top  of  the  little  marble  col- 
umn at  the  head.  Fergussou  does  not  mention  the  Koh- 
i-noor,  nor  the  little  column  four  feet  high,  said  to  have 
been  covered  with  gold ;  but  it  still  stands  there,  with 
the  empty  socket  on  the  top,  and  it  was,  at  all  events,  a 
unique  and  pleasing  idea.  Few  deserted  cities  are  more 
impressive  than  Futtehpore-Sikri,  and  the  splendid  gate- 
way of  the  mosque  which  towers  to  the  height  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the  ground,  dwarfing  every 
structure  within  the  walls,  is  a  landmark  for  all  the 
neighboring  country.  Every  building  which  has  in  any 
measure  escaped  the  ravages  of  time  is  of  the  same  red 
sandstone,  and  the  only  exception  is  the  white  marble 
tomb  of  Selim  Chisti  which  stands  in  the  court-yard  of 
the  mosque.  Such  miracles  of  delicate  tracery  and  such 
fantastically  twisted  brackets  were  surely  never  before 
wrought  from  unyielding  marble ;  and  as  the  sculptured 
cells  in  the  temples  of  Mount  Abu  represent  the  highest 
attainment  of  Hindoo  art  in  this  direction,  so  the  tomb  of 
Selim  Chisti  may  stand  as  an  example  of  what  ingenious 
Mussulman  architects  may  accomplish  Avithin  the  range 
of  purely  geometrical  design,  circumscribed  as  they  are 
by  the  limitations  of  their  creed. 

The  most  unique  of  all  the  little  structures  standing  in 
the  neighborhood,  or  on  the  near  margin  of  the  tank  in  the 
vast  court  enclosed  by  the  palace  walls,  is  the  one  com- 
monly called  the  sultana's  kiosk,  and  lovingly  designed  as 


AN   IMPRESSIVE  GATEWAY 


317 


the  boudoir  of  an  imperial  favorite.  We  know  little  to- 
day of  the  jewel  which  it  sheltered,  but  one  may  at  least 
hope  that  it  was  Avorthy  of  such  a  casket.  The  red  stone 
is  peculiarly  deep  and  rich  in  quality  of  color,  and  as  every 
inch  of  it  is  carved  and  fretted  it  resembles  closely  a 
Japanese  bibelot  of  vermilion  lacquer. 

The  "  House  of  BeerbuFs  daughter  "  and  all  the  others, 
of  which  no  two  are  alike,  show  a  similar  exuberance  of 
fancy  so  that  no  one  of  these  fortunate  sultanas  had  rea- 
son to  be  jealous  of  a  rival's  installation,  since  all  were 
equally  well  lodged.  Nothing  at 
Futtehpore-Sikri  is  more  impressive 
than  the  view  of  the  walls  and  the 
strange  outlines  of  the  structures 
towering  above  them,  when  one 
leaves,  at  sunset,  the  gateway  on  the 
north  where  stand  the  two  great 
elephants  of  stone  with  interlinked 
trunks,  and  descending  the  steep 
pathway  encumbered  with  fallen 
fragments,  reaches  the  isolated  tow- 
er bristling  with  elephants'  tusks. 
Here  he  may  look  back  to  the  de- 
serted capital,  or  forward  to  the  western  glow,  beyond 
the  crumbling  ruins  of  the  last  and  outermost  wall  where 
the  great  vultures  and  adjutant  storks  balance  themselves 
on  the  broken  battlements. 


SHAH    JKHAN 

From  an  old  portrait 


IV 


In  the  portraits  and  miniatures  of  Shah  Jehan  which 
have  survived,  he  is  usually  represented  in  the  act  of  in- 
haling the  fragrance  of  a  moss  rose,  or  toying  with  a  but- 
tonhole bouquet,  and  he  has  quite  the  air  of  an  aesthetic 


318  ORIENTAL   ART 

poseur.  He  showed  great  interest  in  the  portraits  brought 
over  by  the  English  Ambassador,  but  preferred  the  work 
of  his  own  painters,  and  boasted  that  some  of  them  could 
so  copy  these  pictures,  probably  miniatures,  tliat  it  would 
be  impossible  to  distinguish  the  copy  from  the  original. 
Those  which  found  favor  in  his  eyes  were  doubtless  paint- 
ed with  water-colors  on  ivor}-,  and  this  art  has  survived 
to  the  present  day  :  "  for  indeed  in  that  art  of  limning  his 
painters  worke  miracles  ;  the  other  being  in  oyle,  he  liked 
not."  Here  and  there,  in  India,  one  chances  unexpectedly 
upon  a  bit  of  old  work,  which  has  qualities  sufficient  to 
show  that  the  artist  had  something  in  common  with  the 
early  Dutch  and  Flemish  painters,  not  only  in  technique, 
but  in  subject  and  other  attributes  of  genre  painting. 
Somewhere  in  the  labyrinth  of  winding  lanes,  cul-de-sacs, 
and  tall  old  houses  between  Vazir  Khan's  mosque,  at  La- 
hore, and  what  might  be  called  the  exterior  boulevard  on 
the  north,  there  is  a  forsaken,  ruinous,  and  dusty  old  pal- 
ace tenanted  by  the  retainers  of  some  exiled  Rajah ;  at  all 
events  there  is  some  half-forgotten  history  attached  to  it. 
On  the  upper  terrace  of  this  palace,  whence  one  has  a  fine 
view  of  the  richly  colored  minars  of  Yazir  Khan,  which 
rose,  as  we  saw  them,  against  a  stormy  sky,  there  was  a  lit- 
tle square  room  or  "  mirador,"  decorated  with  mural  paint- 
ings, occupying  the  panels  between  doors  and  windows ; 
there  was  a  hunting-scene,  with  a  prince  riding  out  from 
the  palace,  holding  a  falcon  on  his  wrist.  The  details 
of  costume,  embroideries,  and  weapons  were  executed  with 
quaint  precision  and  fidelity.  Another  represented  the 
prince  having  an  interview  with  a  fair  lady  in  a  prim  old 
srarden.  The  ladv  was  certainly  meant  to  be  beautiful,  and 
the  garden,  with  its  shrubbery  and  the  details  of  pave- 
ment or  kiosk,  was  treated  with  a  certain  formal  realism, 
as  if  painted  on  the  spot,  reminding  one  not  a  little  of  Jan 


i 


THK    TA.I    MAHAI. 


320  ARCHITECTURAL  COMPOSITION 

Van  Eyck,  and  the  analysis  of  an  English  critic,  of  his 
early  method  of  beginning  on  a  whitened  panel,  always 
preserving  the  original  outline,  and  gradually  glazing  the 
shadows,  and  leaving  the  high  lights.  During  my  last 
visit  we  tried  again  to  find  the  house,  but  only  succeeded 
in  finding  another  which  recalled  it  in  many  features,  with 
nearly  the  same  view  of  the  minars  from  the  roof,  but 
there  was  no  mirador  and  no  trace  of  paintings.  But 
painting,  after  all,  in  this  country  has  only  a  subordinate 
place  relatively  to  architecture,  in  which  the  genius  of  Ind- 
ian artists  found  its  most  fitting  expression  and  achieved 
its  highest  triumphs.  If  Shah  Jehan  had  left  no  other 
memorial  of  his  reign  than  the  "  Taj,"  he  would  still  be 
entitled  to  the  gratitude  of  posterity,  and  to  an  exalted 
rank  among  kingly  builders.  In  the  chorus  of  praise,  of 
poetry,  and  sentiment,  which  the  first  sight  of  Taj  Mahal 
never  fails  to  inspire,  I  remember  but  one  dissentient 
voice,  and  that  was  a  written  comment  in  the  visitors' 
book  to  the  effect  that  the  writer,  a  patriotic  citizen  of 
Allahabad,  considered  it  inferior  to  certain  monuments  in 
his  own  city,  and  "  not  worth  the  journey  from  Allahabad 
in  order  to  see  it."  The  force  of  one's  first  impression  of 
any  world  -  renowned  chef-d'oeuvre  is  often  weakened  by 
unfavorable  circumstances  or  by  its  environment,  and,  in 
the  case  of  a  painting  or  statue  often  placed  in  a  badly 
lighted  gallery,  some  effort  is  necessary  at  times  in  order 
to  adjust  one's  mind  to  the  conditions.  But  in  the  case 
of  the  Taj  the  builders  have  cunningly  done  all  that  be- 
forehand, nothing  unsightly  is  left  to  mar  the  impression, 
and  when  one  has  emerged  from  the  gloom  of  the  great 
portal  which  gives  access  to  the  garden,  two  lines  of  black 
cypress  spires  lead  the  eye  straight  to  the  majestic  dome 
which  rises  white  and  dazzling  at  the  end  of  the  vista,  and 
which  is  repeated  in  the  still  water  of  the  long  canal. 


The  setting  is 
worthy  of  the 
gem,  and  on  ei- 
ther hand,  be- 
yond  the    dark 

cypresses,    the  the  taj  mahal,  from  across  thk  jlmxa 

garden,  of  match- 
less kixuriance,  is  a  very  carnival  of  color.  From  tlie 
stately  entrance  gate  of  red  stone  and  white  marble,  and 
the  garden  walls,  ornamented  with  kiosks  and  domes  in 
which  every  battlement  is  inlaid  with  a  marble  fleur-de-lis, 
to  the  beautiful  pendent  mosques  enhancing  the  brilliancy 
of  the  Taj  by  their  variegated  color,  the  same  perfection  of 
finish  reigns  throughout,  and  one  longs  almost  unconscious- 
ly for  some  blemish,  some  harsher  note  to  connect  it  with 
the  outer  world,  and  stamp  it  with  reality.     As  one  enters 


322  A  MASTERPIECE 

the  little  alcove  among  piles  of  pointed  shoes  of  strange 
and  varied  make,  left  by  native  pilgrims  at  the  threshold, 
and  turns  to  mount  the  steps  leading  to  the  upper  terrace 
through  the  recessed  marble,  as  transparently  luminous  as 
a  crevasse  in  the  ice  of  a  glacier,  he  is  met  b}'  ragged  lit- 
tle pages,  who  proceed  to  whisk  the  dust  from  his  shoes, 
so  that  he  may  not  leave  it  on  the  immaculate  pavement 
above. 

Seen  from  across  the  Jumna  it  rises  like  a  summer  cloud 
against  the  clear  sky,  and  its  inverted  image  trembles  in 
the  deep  blue  of  the  water.  There  is  no  blackness  in  the 
shadows  on  the  sunlit  faces,  and  even  under  the  deeply 
recessed  arches  the  color  is  luminous  and  opalescent, 
Avhile  on  the  shadowed  side  it  borrows  the  cool  reflected 
tones  of  the  sky,  and  is  as  full  of  transparent  tints  and 
hues  of  mother-of-pearl  as  the  lining  of  a  shell.  Fergus- 
son  is  the  recognized  authority  on  Indian  architecture, 
and  in  his  comments  on  the  Taj  his  too  evident  admi- 
ration is  tempered,  and  his  reputation  as  a  classical  critic 
saved,  by  placing  it  on  a  lower  level  than  the  master- 
pieces of  Greek  art,  while  he  pronounces  it  to  be  un- 
equalled in  its  class.*  When  one  attempts  to  paint  or 
draw  even  a  small  portion  of  it  he  will  grow  to  under- 
stand that  beneath  its  apparent  simplicity,  which  is  so 
managed   that  no  detail   interferes  with  the  unity  and 

* ' '  The  Partlienon  belongs,  it  is  true,  to  a  higher  class  of  art,  its 
sculptures  raising  it  into  the  region  of  the  most  intellectual  branch  of 
phonetic  art;  but, on  the  other  hand,  the  exquisite  inlay  of  precious  stones 
at  the  Taj  is  so  seslhetlcally  beautiful  as  in  a  merely  architectural  esti- 
mate almost  to  bring  it  on  a  level  with  the  Grecian  masterpiece;"  and 
again  he  writes,  "Though  their  value  consequentlj^  may  be  nearly  the 
same,  their  forms  are  so  essentially  different  that  they  hardly  look  like 
productions  of  the  same  art.  ...  Its  beauty  may  not  be  of  the  highest 
class,  but  in  its  class  it  is  unsurpassed." — Fergusson,  Uistory  of  Archi- 
tecture. 


BEAUTY   AND  STRENGTH  323 

force  of  the  impression,  tliere  is  yet  a  vast  deal  of  com- 
})iexity  and  thorough  constructive  science.  13ut  all  tiiese 
unpleasant  but  necessary  elements  are  so  artfully  subor- 
dinated, that  one  carries  away  only  the  memory  of  its 
sensuous  charm  of  color  and  outline,  and  is  not  disturbed 
by  the  underlying  basis  of  mathematics.  From  the  ter- 
race behind  the  Taj,  overlooking  the  Jumna,  the  view 
extends  beyond  a  bend  of  the  river  to  the  fortress  walls 
of  Agra,  topped  by  the  white  domes  and  gilded  roof  of 
the  palace  and  the  adjacent  mosques.  Beautiful  at  a 
distance,  the}'  lose  little  by  a  closer  inspection.  The  for- 
tress is  entered  by  the  usual  mediaeval  drawbridge  and 
•dark  vaulted  entrance  guarded  by  tall,  red-coated  Sikhs. 
Beyond  these  outer  defences,  an  ascending  ramp,  flanked 
by  high  walls  commanding  the  road  on  every  side,  is 
admirably  planned  to  resist  a  sudden  attack,  and  this 
causeway  curves  upward  to  the  arched  gate  between  two 
majestic  towers.  It  must  have  been  nearl}-^  or  quite  im- 
pregnable against  the  cannon  of  Akbars  time,  and  should 
a  storming  column  have  succeeded  in  forcing  the  outer 
gate,  and  mounting  the  steep  ascent,  with  two  turns  at 
right  angles,  swept  on  all  sides  by  a  concentrated  fire 
from  above,  it  would  have  suffered  at  least  an  unpleasant 
moment  of  suspense  when  forced  to  halt  at  the  foot  of 
this  titanic  portal  as  at  the  base  of  a  precipice.  Xot- 
withstanding  its  formidable  appearance,  it  deserves  to  be 
considered  as  a  work  of  art  from  the  noble  proportions  of 
the  two  octagonal  towers  and  their  ornamentation  of  in- 
laid marble.  While  there  is  always  an  element  of  the 
quaintly  exotic,  and,  to  our  e3'es,  barbaric,  in  most  Hindoo 
work,  which  necessitates  some  familiarity  with  it  before 
we  can  fully  enjoy  its  aesthetic  qualities,  in  tiie  great 
monuments  of  the  Mogul  epoch  so  grand  and  simple  in 
proportion,  and  at  the  same  time  so  wonderfully  elabor- 


324  A  RIVER  VIEW 

ate,  we  recognize  certain  architectural  principles  already 
familiar  to  us.  This  is  particularly  evident  in  the  great 
citadels  w^hich  enclose  the  imperial  palaces,  and  which ^ 
while  planned  like  the  feudal  strongholds  of  Europe,  and 
with  quite  as  much  military  science,  have  been  made 
more  interesting  by  their  external  decoration.  The  walls 
and  gateways  of  the  Agra  fortress  were  built  by  Akbar, 
the  red  stone  palace  within  resembling  in  style  some  of 
the  palaces  in  his  deserted  capital  at  Futtehpore.  Sikri 
"was  built  by  his  son  Jehanghdr,  and  the  beautiful  marble 
palaces,  kiosks,  pavilions,  and  mosques  were  the  work 
of  Shah  Jehan.  Throughout  the  entire  series  of  stately 
palaces  constructed  during  the  reign  of  this  monarch  runs 
a  vein  of  ultra-£esthetic  refinement,  showing  an  evident 
desire  to  make  the  most  of  natural  advantages,  and  a 
poetic  sense  of  what  is  beautiful  and  fitting,  and  which 
could  only  be  content  with  the  best.  What  could  be 
more  satisfactory  and  complete  than  the  lovely  open 
pavilion  crowning  one  of  the  red  stone  towers  of  the  for- 
tress at  a  great  height  from  the  ground,  with  bracketed 
marble  columns  supporting  the  eaves,  inlaid  like  the  Taj, 
and  opening  directlj''  into  an  open  marble  court  with 
fountains.  There  is  a  charming  view  of  the  Taj  rising 
beyond  a  bend  of  the  river  from  the  pavilion,  and  the 
little  court  behind  communicates  by  a  latticed  passage 
with  the  gallery  reserved  for  the  ladies  of  the  Zenana, 
overlooking  the  great  entrance  court  where  the  emperor 
was  accustomed  to  receive  foreign  embassies. 

But  in  order  to  arrive  at  a  fair  understanding  of  what 
was  accomplished  in  decorative  architecture  during  the 
reign  of  Shah  Jehan  one  must  take  into  consideration 
the  other  monuments  of  Agra,  having  begun  with  the 
Taj  and  the  palace.  The  "  Moti  Musjid,"  or  Pearl  Mosque, 
which  is  seemingly  restful  from  its  appearance  of  extreme 


SUNLIGHT  AND  SHADOWS  325 

simplicity',  artfully  conceals  beneath  this  exterior  a  great 
deal  of  studied  proportion  and  elaborate  detail.  The 
broad  court,  when  one  enters  it  on  a  bright  day,  has  the 
blinding  dazzle  of  a  snow-field,  for  nothing  meets  the  eye 
but  marble  and  the  deep  blue  sky.  Xotiiing  could  ex- 
ceed the  delicacy  of  color  and  subtle  gradations  of  tint 
when  the  eye  penetrates  from  the  outer  glare  into  the 
depths  of  shadow  behind  the  arches.  But,  as  in  the  Taj. 
there  is  no  darkness  in  this  shadow,  and  the  details  of 
the  innermost  wall  are  clearly  visible  from  across  the 
court.  A  short  distance  from  the  fortress  rise  the  three 
great  domes  of  the  Jumna  Musjid  or  chief  Mosque  of 
Agra,  decorated  with  zigzag  bands  of  white  and  red  stone. 
This  also  is  of  Shah  Jehan's  reign.  When  we  pass  on  to 
Delhi,  his  chief  capital,  we  are  confronted  by  another 
series  of  imposing  buildings,  the  great  fortress,  and  the 
remains  of  the  palaces  within  its  enclosures,  the  great 
mosque,  the  largest  and  most  stately  pile,  as  a  whole, 
among  Mohammedan  religious  edifices.  And  farther  on. 
at  Lahore,  we  find  still  another  capital  and  another  series 


THE    JC.MXA    MfSJID,  DELHI 


326  ARTISTIC  MONUMENTS 

of  palaces  and  mosques.  In  the  hill  fortress  of  Gwalior 
there  is  yet  another  palace  of  Shah  Jehan,  but  a  small 
one,  only  three  hundred  and  twenty  feet  in  length, 
perched,  as  usual,  on  the  very  verge  of  an  "  embattled 
steep."  Many  other  pleasure-houses  might  be  added  to 
the  list,  for  this  monarch  seems  to  have  taken  pleasure  in 
distributing  himself  over  a  vast  extent  of  territory.  An 
approximate  idea  of  the  prodigious  number  of  artistic 
monuments  for  which  northern  India  is  indebted  to  his 
splendid  extravagance  may  be  gained  by  supposing  that 
Louis  XIV.,  for  instance,  after  constructing  Versailles 
and  its  dependencies,  had  built  the  Louvre,  Luxembourg, 
and  other  edifices  of  Paris,  the  work  of  different  archi- 
tectural epochs,  had  then  built  himself  another  capital 
at  London,  with  citadels,  palaces,  cathedrals,  and  still 
another  at  Brussels,  and  linked  them  all  together  by  a 
chain  of  smaller  palaces  and  occasional  retreats.  Had 
not  death  interrupted  his  ambition,  he  would  have  built 
a  pendant  to  the  Taj  across  the  Jumna,  and  thrown  a 
marble  bridge  over  the  river  between  them. 

The  most  perfect  surviving  example  of  this  epoch, 
which  ranks  with  the  Taj  as  a  piece  of  unparalleled  but 
charming  extravagance,  is  the  part  of  the  Palace  at  Delhi 
called  the  Dewan-i-Khas,  and  the  adjoining  apartments,^ 
all  that  remains,  in  fact,  of  what  was  once  the  most  exten- 
sive and  sumptuous  palace  in  the  world.  According  to 
the  only  existing  plan  it  was  more  than  double  the  size  of 
the  Escurial,  or,  indeed,  of  any  other  palace  in  Europe.* 
It  would  be  useless  to  refer  again  to  the  vandalism  which 
destroyed  it,  as  this  has  already  been  the  cause  of  suffi- 
cient repentance.  The  verses  in  Persian  characters,  ex- 
tolling its  charms  with  the  customary  extravagance  of 

*  Mogul  Art,  Fergusson. 


ORNATE  DECORATION  327 

Oriental  poets,  do  not  exceed  the  truth.  There  is  not  a 
square  yard,  either  of  column,  arch,  or  ceiling,  which  is  left 
unadorned  with  precious  mosaics  and  gilding.  In  some 
instances  one  has  a  feeling  of  disappointment  at  first  see- 
ing this  far-famed  jeweller's  decoration  applied  on  such  ex- 
tensive scale.  When  viewed  from  a  distance  these  deli- 
cate arabesques  and  flowerlike  petals  seem  to  soften  and 
temper  the  blankness  of  the  marble,  and  when  closely  ex- 
amined with  a  hand-glass  they  become  interesting  again 
from  their  w^onderful  delicacy ;  but  when  seen  from  ii  short 
distance  they  appear  formal  in  design  and  crude  in  color, 
like  the  stamped  patterns  on  chintz.  In  the  Delhi  palace 
the  incrustation  of  gilding,  whicli  relieves  in  places  the 
bluish  or  opal-tinted  tones  of  the  marble,  seems  to  harmo- 
nize and  enhance  the  brighter  colors  of  the  mosaic,  with  its 
frequently  recurring  flowers  of  agate  and  red  carnelian. 
The  sun-steeped  landscape  seen  from  the  windows,  with 
the  distant  Jumna,  here  a  narrower  stream  tlian  at  Agra, 
in  its  repose  and  vast  breadth,  is  a  perfect  foil  to  the  lavish 
magnificence  within.  The  charm  of  these  Indian  palaces 
may  be  partly  due  to  the  fact  that  nowhere  is  nature  shut 
out,  and  one  has  no  feeling  of  confinement,  as  in  the  pal- 
aces of  Europe ;  wherever  the  eye  wanders,  across  the  cool 
marble  of  the  pavement,  to  the  light  between  the  col- 
umns, or  through  the  lace-work  of  the  windows,  there  is 
always  a  prospect  of  flowers  and  tree-tops,  of  blue  water, 
or  a  hazy  rim  of  encircling  hills. 

The  ceiling  of  the  Dewan-i-Khas,  said  to  have  been  orig- 
inally of  silver,  has  been  recently  restored,  though  not  of 
course  to  its  former  magnificence ;  but  at  present  it  seems 
somewhat  garish  in  color  when  contrasted  Avith  the  time- 
chastened  decorations  below.  The  walls  and  gateways  of 
the  citadel  enclosing  this  group  of  palaces  are  built  in  a 
style  of  corresponding  magnificence,  but  somewhat  more 


328 


IMPRESSIVE  ELEGANCE 


WINDOWS    IN    OLD    DELHI 


severe  in  character,  and  are 
still  in  good  repair,  with  the 
exception  of  the  Cashmere 
Gate  and  bastion,  the  scene 
of  one  of  the  most  heroic 
incidents  of  modern  history. 
A  short  distance  from  the 
walls  stands  the  Jumma  Mus- 
jid,  which,  although  some- 
what lacking  internally  in 
the  good  taste  and  harmony 
of  color  and  arrangement 
which  characterize  most 
buildings  of  the  epoch,  is  un- 
rivalled in  grandeur  of  line 
and  in  external  effect.  At 
sunset,  when  seen  from  the  eastern  side,  a  violet  silhouette 
against  the  glow  of  the  sky,  nothing  could  exceed  its  ele- 
gance of  outline,  and  it  has  almost  the  illusion  of  a  whole 
city,  with  its  long  array  of  domes,  cupolas,  spires,  and 
finials,  its  level  line  of  arcaded  cloisters,  through  which 
the  light  pierces,  giving  to  the  vast  pile  an  air  of  lightness 
and  grace,  and,  dominating  all,  the  two  tall  minars  and 
great  balloon-shaped  marble  domes. 

Much  of  the  merit  of  the  Agra  and  Delhi  mosaics  was 
formerly  attributed  to  Austin  de  Bordeaux  and  other 
Europeans  in  the  service  of  Shah  Jehan  ;  but  few  patterns 
have  been  found,  however,  which  can  be  referred  directly 
to  European  inspiratio*n,  and  it  is  everywhere  apparent  that 
the  Moguls  availed  themselves  of  the  mechanical  skill  and 
ingenuity  of  these  Western  artificers  in  working  out  their 
own  designs,  for  instances  are  rare  in  Italy  of  workman- 
ship so  delicate  in  execution  and  at  the  same  time  so  thor- 
oughly subordinate  to  the  general  scheme  of  the  architect. 


A  NEW  TYPE  329 


V 

One  is  usually  more  or  less  prepared  for  what  awaits 
him  at  Delhi  and  Agra,  but  when  we  were  advised  to  stop 
on  the  way  north  and  see  Ahmedabad  for  the  first  time, 
we  did  not  expect  to  have  the  satisfaction  of  discovering 
for  ourselves,  as  it  were,  a  new  type  of  city,  and  of  becom- 
ing accustomed  to  a  new  phase  of  Indian  art.  The  guide- 
books and  other  works  which  we  had  studied  before  leav- 
ing Europe  made  but  little  mention  of  this  city,  and  we 
knew  next  to  nothing  of  the  marvels  of  Avood  -  carving 
with  which  its  streets  are  lined,  and  its  ornate  little  mosques 
all  built  alike  of  orange-hued  sandstone,  differing  only  in 
their  degree  of  elaboration  ;  the  most  striking  feature  of 
these  mosques  is  their  curious  blending  of  modern  and 
Hindoo  art,  or,  more  explicitly  speaking,  the  way  in  which 
the  plans  of  Moslem  builders  have  been  wrought  out  and 
embellished  by  artisans  of  Hindoo  or  Jaina  race.  In  this 
case  the  marriage  of  these  two  elements  has  been  a  happy 
one,  for  the  architectural  results  are  often  remarkable  for 
elegance  of  form  and  sculptured  detail,  and  resemble 
nothing  else  in  the  world. 

While  driving  about  in  the  town  with  the  vague  hope 
of  finding;  some  frao^ments  of  this  seductive  wood-work,  we 

DO  ' 

came  suddenly  upon  a  signboard  in  front  of  an  old  house 
bearing  the  name  in  plain  English  of  a  Xew  York  associa- 
tion of  decorative  artists.  Here  we  found  many  of  the 
most  skilful  workers  of  the  province  engaged  on  Ameri- 
can orders,  such  as  chimney-pieces,  sideboards,  sculptured 
beams,  and  panels.  This  establishment  had  been  recently 
inaugurated  by  Mr.  Lockwood  de  Forrest,  who  has  since 
accomplished  so  much  in  popularizing  Indian  art.  and  at 
that  time  Anijlo-Indian  art  had  scarcelv  awakened  to  the 


330  PAINTED  CARVINGS 

fact  that  these  things  were  ev^en  worthy  of  consideration 
even  from  an  artistic  or  a  commercial  point  of  view. 
Mention  was  made  in  a  former  article  of  the  general  ar- 
rangement of  these  Ahmedabad  houses,  also  common  in 
other  cities  of  Guzerat  and  in  Bombay.  The  leading  feat- 
ures may  be  again  noted  as  being  the  deeply  recessed 
lower  story  forming  a  veranda,  and  the  wooden  pillars 
with  elaborately  wrought  consols  supporting  the  upper 
stories  or  balconies ;  the  whole  fafade  is  often  covered 
with  a  wealth  of  carving,  painted  with  tints  which  are 
rather  gaudy  when  new,  but  which  are  exquisitely  beauti- 
ful when  half  effaced  and  weather-w^orn.  The  heads  of 
elephants  and  spirited  horses,  figures  of  dancing  girls, 
nymphs,  and  the  gods  of  the  Hindoo  pantheon  are  min- 
gled with  floral  scroll-work,  or  more  conventional  ara- 
besques. The  doors  of  these  houses,  although  massive  and 
heavy,  both  in  appearance  and  in  actual  weight,  are  often 
exceedingly  interesting  and  of  great  artistic  beauty. 

Archaeologists  and  others  who  have  written  on  Indian 
art  have  made  little  mention  of  the  domestic  and  street 
architecture  of  the  country,  or  have  dismissed  the  subject 
with  a  few  words,  confining  their  field  of  observation  to 
the  public  edifices.  One  of  the  very  first  to  appreciate 
this  phase  of  indigenous  art  was  a  well-known  English 
architect,  who  caused  a  series  of  large  photographs  to  be 
made  of  houses,  windows,  doors,  and  ornamented  panels 
for  the  South  Kensington  Museum,  and  it  is  through  his 
endeavors  that  a  thoroughly  illustrative  collection  has  been 
made  there.  Although  he  has  lived  to  see  his  labors  ap- 
preciated, he  had  great  difficulty  at  the  outset  in  creating 
an  interest,  owing  to  the  conservatism  of  certain  directors 
or  others  in  authority,  who  recognized  only  the  art  of 
Greece  and  Rome,  stigmatizing  everything  in  India  as 
"  Alhambra  Rot."     Far  from  discriminating  intelligently 


A  "NOTION"  SHOP 


331 


between  the  different  schools,  or  even  between  the  good 
and  the  bad,  they  wished  to  know  nothing  about  it,  con- 
sidering from  their  classical  standpoint  that  it  could  have 
no  interest  for  the  world  at  large. 

In  contrast  to  this  somewhat  intolerant  spirit,  one 
meets  now  and  then  intelligent  natives  of  India  who  ap- 
pear to  have  discovered  for  themselves  the  intrinsic  worth 
of  these  things  at  a  time  when  most  Europeans  were  still 
indifferent  to  them.  There  used  to  be  a  large  "  Europe 
Shop"  in  Ahmedabad,  resembling  in  the  character  and 
variety  of  its  merchandise  an  American  country  store, 
which  was  kept  by  an  elderly  Parsee,  and  I  once  had 
occasion  to  replace 
some  missing  article 
from  his  extensive 
stock.  The  old  gen- 
tleman, with  white 
mustache  and  the 
mutton  -  chop  whis- 
kers affected  by  Par- 
sees  of  the  old  school, 
wearing  the  regula- 
tion tall  black  cap 
and  white  drills,  was 
tilted  back  in  his 
chair,  giving  orders  to 
half-caste  clerks  and 
paying  little  atten- 
tion to  the  rare  cus- 
tomers. Some  ques- 
tion of  mine  in  regard 
to  the  antiquities  of 
the  neighborhood 
seemed  to  arouse  his 


TEAK-WOOD    DOORWAY.   AHMEDABAD 


332  A  TRANSITION 

interest,  and  after  diving  and  rummaging  among  a  pile  of 
old  boxes  he  came  out  triumphantly  with  a  neatly  bound 
little  volume,  a  monograph  in  English,  describing  the  prin- 
cipal buildings  of  mark,  and  illustrated  by  photogravures. 
He  had  not  only  written  the  book,  but  had  made  the  pho- 
tographs, having  first  tried  to  draw  the  subjects  and  finding 
his  skill  insufficient;  and  he  had  also  travelled  over  a  large 
part  of  India  for  the  sole  purpose  of  enjoying  and  study- 
ing its  architectural  beauties.  I  do  not  cite  this  as  being 
at  all  an  exceptional  case,  since  he  belonged  to  a  race  re- 
markable for  keen  intelligence,  and  among  which  culture 
is  often  associated  with  wealth.  No  transition  more 
abrupt  and  entire  could  be  imagined  than  that  from 
Ahmedabad  to  Ajmere.  It  is  not  that  one  city  could  be 
considered  as  exclusively  Hindoo  and  the  other  as  Moham- 
medan, for  the  former  city  was  in  its  prime  the  capital  of 
a  flourishing  sultanate  and  held  an  incredible  number  of 
mosques,  while  the  other  was  at  one  time  a  favorite  seat 
of  the  Mogul  Emperors ;  but  in  Ahmedabad  the  decora- 
tive art  of  the  Hindoos,  a  more  cultivated  race  than  their 
conquerors,  was  able  to  hold  its  own,  and  there  is  no  trace 
in  the  carved  house  fronts  of  Arabic  influence,  and  but 
little  even  in  the  mosques,  which  were  profusely  sculptured 
in  the  Jaina  style ;  there  are  few  if  any  of  the  dentilated 
arches  which  abound  in  Rajputana,  and  a  white  wall  is  a 
rarity  among  the  richly  colored  but  somewhat  sombre- 
toned  houses  Avhich  line  the  streets.  Should  one  go  di- 
rectly from  this  city  to  Ajmere  the  difference  will  seem 
as  striking,  for  instance,  as  that  which  exists  between 
Amsterdam  and  Capri,  and  would  seem  to  be  the  work  of 
a  widely  different  race.  Here  everything  is  white,  there 
is  no  carved  wood,  and  the  street  architecture  resembles 
that  of  the  neighboring  cities  of  Rajputana,  of  which 
Ajmere  was  once  an  important  capital.      Most   of  the 


BRIGHTNESS  AND  GAYETY 


333 


town  is  more  or  less  modern,  and  while  its  white  aspect 
recalls  in  a  measure  the  appearance  of  a  Moorish  city, 
nothing  could  offer  more  contrast  to  the  blank  walls  of 
the  Moors  than  the  brightness  and  gayety  of  its  bazaars. 


T 


WINDOW    OF    QL'EEN  S    MOSQUE,  AHMEDABAD 

made  attractive  by  innumerable  arched  windows,  balco- 
nies, and  colored  awnings.  At  Lahore  and  Amritsar  we 
are  confronted  with  another  type,  the  outcome  of  a  differ- 
ent art  instinct.  The  tall  wooden  houses,  as  elaborately 
carved  and  decorated  as  those  of  Guzerat,  display  many 
of  the  geometrical  patterns  used  by  the  western  Arabs, 
and  at  Multan  and  in  Scinde  Persian  influence  beo^ins  to 


334 


ART  SCHOOLS 


appear,  and  many  other  variations  exist  in  which  these 
leading  elements  are  combined  in  different  proportions. 


VI 

A  lingering  doubt  still  exists  as  to  the  possibility  of 
completing  or  even  beginning  an  art  education  outside  of 
Europe,  and  a  travelled  American  was  recently  heard  to 
ask  whether  it  were  yet  practicable  in  the  United  States. 
It  mifi-ht  furnish  such  doubters  with  food  for  reflection, 
could  they  visit  one  or  two  of  the  art  schools  of  India,  and 
see  with  what  success  the  experiment  of  initiating  the 
native  into  the  mysteries  of  the  painter's  craft,  from  a 
European  stand-point,  has  been  crowned  thus  far.  In  the 
life-class  at  the  School  of  Arts  in  Bombay,  we  found  the 
students  working  in  various  mediums,  from  a  costumed 
model,  one  of  the  characteristic  street  types  of  the  bazaar, 
Hindoo  and  Moslem,  irrespective  of  class  distinctions,  met 

on  neutral  ground,  and  the 
class  itself  would  have  made 
an  interesting  subject  for  a 
painter.  Some  of  the  work- 
ers wore  the  conventional 
dress  of  their  race  or  order, 
and  others  the  semi -Euro- 
pean garb  now  prevalent. 
There  was  a  fair  sprinkling 
of  scarlet  turbans  and  black 
velvet  caps,  and  a  young 
Parsee  girl,  clothed  in  the 
classical,  clinging  drapery 
of  her  race,  was  making 
what  would  be  considered 

SCULPTURE   AROUND  THE   DOORWAY   OF   A 

TEMPLE,  MCTTRA  (MODERN)  auywherc  a  very  pretty 


AN   ARTISAN   WORKSHOP 


335 


ehauche  in  black  and  white.  Tlie  director  of  this  institu- 
tion, Mr.  Griffiths,  is  an  artist  of  rare  ability,  and  to  liiin 
is  due  the  credit  of  inaugurating  a  school  of  industrial  art, 
with  the  object  of  improving  the  quality  and  raising  the 
standard  of  these  various  Indian  handicrafts,  and  Avhich  is 
now  one  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  this  institution. 
Like  most  innovators,  he  at  first  found  difficulty  in  securing 
the  co-operation  of  the  government  in  developing  his  plan, 
and  it  was  not  until  he  had 
obtained  the  interest  and 
practical  assistance  of  Lord 
Reay  that  the  matter  was 
brought  to  a  successful 
issue.  This  section  of  the 
School  of  Arts  is  now 
called  the  "  Reay "  art 
workshops,  and  it  was 
opened  in  1S91  with  a  staff 
of  eighty  artisans.  The 
lonof  building  where  these 
ateliers  are  located,  built  in 
unpretending  and  economi- 
cal fashion,  resembles  a 
weavino^  -  shed,  but  is  well 
lighted,  and  quite  sufficient 
for   the    modest    needs    of 

the  workers ;  the  rooms  have  earthen  floors,  and  only  one, 
where  finished  products  are  exhibited,  has  any  pretensions 
to  decorative  effect.  Instruction  is  given  in  gold  and  sil- 
ver  chasing,  enamelling  on  metals,  engraving  and  repousse 
work,  wood-carving,  ornamental  copper  and  brass  work. 
and  iron  work ;  also  carpet-weaving.  Each  workshop  is 
presided  over  by  a  master  craftsman,  assisted  by  a  num- 
ber of  apprentices.      The  system  of  apprenticeship  has 


STONE    BRACKETS    AT    MUTTKA 


336  ORNAMENTAL  IRON-WORK 

been  found  necessary  in  order  that  the  students  may  not 
be  enticed  a\\^ay  by  the  prospect  of  higher  wages,  before 
their  course  of  study  is  completed.  If  they  are  found, 
after  a  probationary  period  of  several  months,  to  have  the 
requisite  qualifications,  they  are  formally  apprenticed  for 
three  years,  and  receive  five  rupees  a  month  for  the  first 
year,  seven  for  the  second,  and  ten  for  the  third.  Much 
attention  is  being  given  to  ornamental  metal-work,  such 
as  iron  window  gratings  and  balustrades,  and  the  efforts 
thus  directed  will,  it  is  hoped,  result  in  domestic  iron-work 
of  a  more  artistic  character  than  is  found  in  the  more 
modern  native  houses  of  Bombay,  and  more  on  a  par  with 
that  which  still  survives  in  Ahmedabad  and  other  older 
cities,  Avhich  have  not  yet  begun  to  substitute  the  cheaper 
machine-made  work  of  Europe.  The  ornamental  metal- 
Avork  of  the  great  Victoria  Terminus*  at  Bombay  was 
made  at  the  School  of  Arts,  and  far  more  cheaply  than  it 
could  have  been  imported  from  Europe.  This  station  is 
one  of  the  most  imposing  modern  buildings  in  India,  and 
although  somewhat  florid  in  its  external  ornamentation, 
is  agreeable  and  harmonious  in  effect,  as  well  as  sumptu- 
ous in  material  and  finish.  In  the  department  of  wood- 
carving  at  the  Reay  workshops  there  are  many  examples 
of  the  application  of  elaborate  decorative  designs  to  art 
furniture,  screens,  punkah  frames,  and  other  household 
articles ;  and  the  workmen  are  encouraged  to  employ  their 
own  tools,  rather  than  those  imported  from  Europe,  so 
that  when  -they  leave  the  school  they  may  be  better  able 
to  turn  their  hands  to  any  work  which  may  come  in  their 
way,  without  being  dependent  on  foreign  aids.  In  an- 
other room  a  few  carpets  were  being  woven  on  vertical 
frames,  from  fragments  of  ancient  Persian  carpets  of  great 

*The  station  of  the  Great  Indian  Peninsula  Railroad. 


ECONOMICAL   MANAGEMENT 


337 


beauty,  and  these  models  were  followed  far  more  care- 
fully, both  in  design  and  quality  of  color,  than  in  tlie  more 
extensive  workshops  of  the  north,  whether  located  in 
government  jails  or  in  private  factories,  from  which  the 
great  warehouses  of  London  and  Paris  are  supplied.  The 
metal  work  produced  here  impressed  me  as  being  more 
artistic  than  that 


which  is  usually 
offered  to  the  cas- 
ual tourist  in  the 
shops,  or  by  itin- 
erant venders, 
particularly  those 
partially  enam- 
elled or  engraved. 
A  most  praise- 
worthy feature  of 
this  institution  is 
the  economical 
way  in  which 
such  results  are 
obtained,  as  if 
every  rupee  had 
been  laid  out  to 
the  best  advan- 
tage. The  Mayo 
School  of  Arts  at 
Lahore  is  one  of 
the  most  thriving 
and  practically 
useful  endow- 
ments of  this 
kind  to  be  found 
anywhere. 

22 


*«i?v/*\j^  vf*  y>  jy!-^/*\:J^'-/C'?^<-. 


'"^m 


Ml 

1 
7 


VISTA    IN    THE    NKW   ART    MISKUM,  LAHORE 


338  A  PROGRESSIVE  TOWN 

In  the  minds  of  the  majority  of  people  Lahore,  like 
Thule,  belongs  to  the  fantastic  realm  of  opera,  and  when- 
ever the  name  comes  up,  the  practical  man  at  once  men- 
tally consigns  it  to  the  vague  limbo  of  theatrical  geogra- 
phy. Remote  from  the  sea,  and  within  a  day's  journey  of 
the  treacherous  Afghan,  travellers  with  round-the-world 
Cook's  tickets  seldom  include  it  in  their  itineraries.  In 
spite  of  this  crushing  indifference  of  the  world  in  general, 
Lahore  has  gone  bravely  on,  and  built  for  itself  an  Ecole 
des  Beaux  Arts  and  an  Art  Museum,  in  both  of  which  it 
has  dared  to  be  original,  and  which  deserve  to  be  more 
widely  known  as  models  in  their  way.  In  place  of  the 
customary  renaissance  palace  or  Greek  temple,  we  find  an 
edifice  which  seems  to  embody  in  its  internal  architecture 
and  adornment  the  principles  w^hich  govern  the  conduct 
of  the  school — the  encouragement  and  amelioration  of  na- 
tive art.  This  institution  was  first  proposed  in  1873-74  as 
a  memorial  to  Lord  Mayo,  the  former  viceroy,  and  it  was 
then  decided  that  it  should  have  a  distinctly  Oriental 
character.  Mr.  J.  Lockwood  Kipling  was  induced  to  go 
to  Lahore,  in  order  to  take  charge  of  the  new  undertak- 
ing, in  1875.  Mr.  Kipling's  fitness  for  the  task,  and  his 
success  in  bringing  it  to  completion,  was  owing  as  much 
to  his  previous  training  and  professional  experience  in 
various  directions  as  to  his  keen  appreciation  of  the 
Indian  art  in  generation,  for  it  has  usually  been  conceded 
that  a  good  "all-round  man"  has  the  advantage  of  a 
specialist  in  such  an  undertaking.  He  had  previously 
identified  himself  with  what  might  be  termed  the  new 
art  movement  in  Bombay  by  his  work  on  the  stately  se- 
ries of  municipal  and  government  buildings — the  Yeneto- 
Gothic  palaces  in  the  new  quarter,  which  offer  such  a 
grateful  contrast  to  the  stuccoed  and  yellow  -  washed 
classical  temples  of  an  earlier  date,  many  of  which,  un- 


A  PRAISEWORTHY  EFFORT 


339 


fortunately,  still  survive.  There  were  raany  obstacles  in 
his  wa}""  at  the  outset,  as  well  as  deeply  rooted  prejudice 
to  counteract,  and  much  study  of  the  ground  was  neces- 
sary before  he  could  carr\"  out  the  very  obvious  and  sim- 
ple notion  that,  since  India  is  heir  to  a  distinctive  and 
naturally  descended  style 
of  art,  some  effort  should 
be  made  to  preserve  it,  and 
to  collect  and  perpetuate 
its  best  traditions.  To  con- 
tinue in  his  own  words,  he 
"  was  hampered  by  two  or 
three  influences :  first,  the 
excellent  English  adminis- 
trators, who  had  never  seri- 
ously thought  about  art  at 
all,  but  Avho  expected  the 
latest  kind  of  European  im- 
provements on  the  subject ; 
and,  secondl}',  the  natives 
themselves,  who  were  very 
reluctant  to  believe  that  it 
was  worth  while  to  study 

and  draw  buildings  which  they  had  been  indifferent  to  all 
their  fives ;  they  also  expected  something  brand-new  from 
England."  After  some  tentative  experiments,  he  estab- 
lished a  nucleus  of  students  and  craftsmen  from  which  the 
school  grew  to  its  present  importance.  Since  Mr.  Kipling's 
retirement  the  school  has  been  under  the  direction  of  Mr. 
F.  II.  Andrews,  and  the  work  is  being  carried  on  quite  in 
accordance  with  the  views  of  its  founders.  All  the  assist- 
ant masters  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  David  are  natives  of 
the  Punjaub,  and  the  course  of  study  comprises  modelling 
and  moulding  in  plaster,  architecture  and  wood-carving, 


CARVED  WOOD  BRACKET  AND  CAPITAL, 
BOMBAY 


340 


SKILLED  WORKMANSHIP 


engineering,  geometry,  mensuration,  drawing,  and  design. 
There  are  no  fees  for  instruction,  and  the  students  are 
further  encouraged  by  various  stipends  and  scholarships. 
Some  of  the  more  advanced  students  have  already  been 
sent  out  to  introduce  the  system  into  the  schools  of  the 
northwest  provinces.  An  annual  art  exhibition  is  held 
here,  and  artisans  from  remote  parts  of  the  province  send 
in  their  contributions. 

At  the  epoch  of  my  visit  to  Lahore,  in  1S93,  the  last 
exhibition  had  just  been  closed,  but  many  of  the  unsold 
articles  still  remained  in  the  show-rooms,  and  I  was  par- 
ticularly impressed  by  the  beautiful  reproductions  and 
fac-similes  of  carved  doorways  and  oriel  windows  in  dark 
wood,  or  in  fragrant  "  deodar  "  (a  light-colored  Himala}''- 

an  cedar),  which  were  of- 
fered at  prices  incredibly 
low.  There  were  also  mar- 
vellous screens  with  frames 
inlaid  with  ivory  or  brass, 
and  deodar  panels  filled  in 
with  delicate  geometrical 
lattice-work  almost  micro- 
scopic in  minuteness  of  de- 
tail. Nothing  of  inferior 
quality  seemed  to  have 
found  a  place  here,  and  the 
examples  of  ivory  inlaying, 
lacquer  and  metal  work 
were  all  of  excellent  and 
thorough  workmanship.  It 
was  one  of  the  founders 
chief  objects  to  furnish 
„..^^.„„„  provincial    artisans,   who 

BALCONY  OF  THE  PALACK  OF  THE  SETHS,    ^  ' 

AJMEER  have  no  shops  or  studios, 


INHERITED   TALENT  341 

and  no  way  of  reaching  the  public,  with  a  place  to  show 
their  works,  and  thus  to  "  link  up  the  bazaar  with  the 
school."  But  in  spite  of  his  efforts  and  those  of  his 
successor,  the  greater  part  of  the  students  look  to  gov- 
ernment service  rather  than  to  handicrafts  for  a  fut- 
ure. The  best  of  them  are  generally  sons  of  carpen- 
ters, goldsmiths,  blacksmiths,  and  the  like,  who  have 
an  hereditary  aptitude  for  design,  which  men  of  other 
castes  do  not  possess.  As  an  instance  of  the  way  in 
which  the  materials  at  hand  were  utilized,  Mr.  Kipling 
found  that  under  the  apparent  hap -hazard  method  of 
working  which  Indian  wood  -  carvers  follow,  there  was  a 
definite  system  of  teaching,  and  the  boys  in  the  shops 
improved  their  spare  moments  by  copying  certain  set 
patterns.  These  models  were  collected  and  carefully  cod- 
ified, and  some  of  the  fine  old  examples  of  wood-work 
of  the  best  period,  called  "  Akbari,"  being  of  the  time  of 
Akbar,  were  added  to  them,  and  all  were  found  to  be  of 
great  use  in  elementary  teaching.  In  this  way  also  the 
details  of  the  fresco -painting  in  the  mosque  of  Yazir 
Khan  were  utilized  as  a  copy-book,  but  at  the  same  time 
the  students  were  made  to  exercise  their  inventive  facul- 
ties in  attempting  original  designs,  and  to  develop  their 
inborn  instinct  for  harmony  of  color,  in  which,  when  left 
to  themselves,  they  seldom  go  wrong.  Instances  of  the 
application  of  this  latent  but  hitherto  untrained  talent  to 
practical  uses  have  already  begun  to  multiply,  and  the  su- 
perb decoration  of  the  Queen's  new  banqueting  -  hall  at 
Osborne  by  Bhai  Khan  Singh  (an  assistant  master)  shows 
what  can  be  accomplished  under  such  favorable  condi- 
tions. In  the  atelier  of  sculpture  at  the  school  were  ex- 
amples of  unfinished  but  promising  work,  and  among  the 
studies  from  life,  hung  on  the  walls  of  the  painting -class, 
are  a  few  heads  of  Sikhs  and  other  local  types,  notably 


342  CLEVER  PORTRAITURE 

those  by  Munshi  Sher  Muhammad,  now  an  instructor,  to 
whose  ability  and  taste  much  of  the  decorative  work  in 
the  new  art  museum  is  also  due.  These  heads  are  painted 
in  a  straightforward  and  vigorous  way  which  would  have 
commanded  respect  in  any  Paris  atelier  ten  years  ago. 
If  these  clever  exotics  have  not  yet  caught  on  to  the  most 
recent  fashion  of  expressing  the  "  soul  of  things "  by  a 
more  emblematic  mode  of  treatment — the  theory  of  val- 
uation, in  short  —  and,  ignorant  of  the  joyous  reaction 
Avhich  has  taken  place,  are  still  struggling  to  render  what 
their  eyes  see,  it  is  only  because  the  last  art-wave  set  in 
motion  by  the  pioneers  of  the  new  movement  has  turned 
its  course  westward,  leaving  them  still  groping  for  more 
light. 

In  the  museum  adjoining  the  school  are  several  exam- 
ples of  early  Hindoo  sculpture  showing  unmistakable  evi- 
dence of  Greek  influence,  and  it  would  be  easy  to  believe 
that  their  authors  had  labored  in  the  shadow  of  the 
Acropolis.  The  Jeypore  School  of  Arts  is  up  to  the  pres- 
ent moment  the  only  one  which  flourishes  in  a  native 
state,  and  although  much  of  the  work  produced  there 
seems  to  aim  rather  at  achieving  commercial  excellence 
than  at  improving  the  character  of  industrial  art,  some  of 
its  pupils  have  distinguished  themselves  by  good  architect- 
ural and  decorative  work.  The  results  of  the  growing  in- 
terest in  local  art  are  everywhere  apparent,  not  only  in 
the  larger  cities  which  might  be  called  relatively  art  cen- 
tres, such  as  Calcutta,  Bombay,  Madras,  or  Lahore,  but  in 
many  of  the  smaller  cities  as  well.  In  the  town  of  Mut- 
tra  alone  there  are  several  noteworthy  public  buildings, 
like  the  "  Hardinge  Gate,"  giving  access  to  one  of  the 
principal  bazaars,  of  noble  proportions,  and  built  of  the 
pale  clay-colored  stone  of  the  country,  which  is  admirable 
material  for  the  delicate  and  sharply-cut  work  of  Hindoo- 


•'V^^' ■-'—"'> 


sculptors.  There  is  also 
a  small  museum  on  the 
outskirts  of  the  city, 
which,  although  not  im- 
posing in  size,  is  remark- 
able for  its  exquisite 
workmanship.  Wher- 
ever a  blank  outer  wall 
occurs,  it  has  been  made 
interesting  down  to  the 
ground,  by  dividing  the 
lower  spaces  into  arched 
panels  and  by  carving 
on  these  centres  masses 
of  fruit  or  flowers, 
vigorously  treated,  and 
with  only  a  slight  de- 
irree  of  conventionaliza- 


IN  THE  COURT  OF  THK  PALACE 
SETHS.  AJMEER 


344  THE  PALACE   OF  THE  SETHS 

tion.  These  examples,  were  others  lacking  in  Muttra, 
would  show  conclusively  that  there  is  some  vitality  left 
in  Hindoo  art.  At  Jeypore  there  is  a  fine  modern  pal- 
ace in  the  park,  and  one  at  Baroda  recently  built,  Avith 
a  large  hall  adorned  with  balconies  of  ancient  carved 
woodwork.  The  Palace  of  the  Seths  at  Ajmeer  is  one  of 
the  most  attractive  modern  instances  of  elaborate  decora- 
tion to  be  found  anywhere,  and  Kousselet  mentions  it  in 
terms  of  praise.  The  fayade  of  this  palace,  fronting  one 
of  the  principal  streets,  is  completely  covered  by  tiers  of 
projecting  windows  of  varying  design  in  which  white  al- 
ternates with  brown  stone,  all  remarkable  for  breadth  and 
at  the  same  time  delicacy  of  treatment,  and  the  whole  pile 
is  wonderfully  light  and  airy  in  effect,  while  the  principal 
court-yard  within  has  some  admirable  oriel  windows,  and 
the  intervening  wall  spaces  show  much  originality  in  their 
decoration.  While  many  of  the  pupils  of  these  Art  Acad- 
emies have  shown  incontestable  evidence  of  ability,  and  in 
some  cases  a  striking  talent  for  portraiture,  it  is  question- 
able Avhether  they  should  be  encouraged  to  engage  in  a 
career  which  does  not  at  present  offer  any  very  alluring 
prospect  of  success,  either  artistic  or  commercial.  There 
seem,  on  the  other  hand,  to  be  far  greater  possibilities  in 
store  for  them  in  those  fields  of  decorative  and  ornament- 
al art  in  which  they  are  at  present  almost  unrivalled : 
there  may  yet  be  a  decade  or  two  during  which  we  may 
hope  to  see  other  palaces  and  public  buildings  erected  of 
the  fantastic  and  graceful  architecture  which  admits  of 
such  varied  combinations,  before  the  growth  of  the  utili- 
tarian spirit  and  the  exigencies  of  commerce  shall  have 
supplanted  them  all  by  blocks  of  stone  and  sheds  of 
corrugated  iron.  It  is  even  possible,  as  an  Englishman 
has  written,  that  some  future  municipal  engineer  may  find 
it  necessary  to  widen  the  streets  of  Lahore  and  set  them 


CHEAP  AND  UGLY  345 

straight  with  a  plumb-Hne.  Nothing  can  check  the  steady 
growth  of  these  improvements ;  they  have  come  to  stay, 
and  their  triumphant  excuse  for  being  ugly  is  that  tliey 
are  cheap. 


HINDOO  AND  MOSLEM 

I 

From  the  earliest  period  of  which  any  historic  record 
has  survived,  when  the  Vedic  literature  first  took  shape, 
through  the  following  ages  which  saw  the  rise  and  fall  of 
Buddhism,  the  final  triumph  of  the  Brahmanic  faith  and 
the  successive  Mahommedan  invasions,  down  to  the  pres- 
ent day,  India  has  been  the  battle-ground  of  antagonis- 
tic creeds.  Tlie  first  followers  of  the  Prophet  found  a 
country  which  had  long  enjoyed  an  advanced  stage  of 
civilization  and  culture,  but  which,  divided  into  many 
states  and  harassed  by  internecine  dissensions,  was  unable 
to  oppose  an  effectual  barrier  to  their  progress.  When 
the  flood  of  Mussulman  conquest,  stamping  out  on  its 
way  the  worshippers  of  fire  and  pouring  down  through 
the  passes  on  the  north,  had  spread  over  the  Punjaub,  a 
dynasty  of  Mohammedan  kings  succeeded  the  Hindoo 
monarchs  of  Delhi,  and  prepared  the  ground  in  a  manner 
for  the  formation  of  the  great  Mogul  Empire.  From  the 
writings  and  memoirs  of  Bernier,  Sir  Thomas  Roe,  and 
other  early  travellers,  and  aided  by  the  study  and  in- 
spection of  the  numerous  existing  remains  and  monu- 
ments of  that  epoch,  we  may  form  some  idea  of  its  pomp 
and  luxury,  unparalleled  in  modern  times,  and  recalling 
in  many  features  the  splendor  of  the  ancient  monarchies 
of  the  Euphrates  valley.  This  last  great  period  of  Mus- 
sulman   ascendency,    beginning   with    the    reign    of   the 


IN   THE    DESTKOYER'S   HANDS  347 

Emperor  Baber,  the  so-called  founder  of  the  Empire  of 
the  Moguls,  the  contemporary  of  Suleyman  the  Magnifi- 
cent and  Francois  I.,  and  extending  mto  the  following 
century  when  Shah  Abbas  reigned  at  Ispahan,  and  Euro- 
pean travellers  returning  from  Persia  told  marvellous 
tales  of  its  sumptuous  court,  culminated  in  the  reign  of 
Shah  Jehan  at  Delhi  and  Agra.  Previous  to  the  founda- 
tion of  this  empire,  the  occasional  inroads  of  the  Moguls 
are  stated  by  Elphinstone  to  have  been  "the  greatest 
calamity  that  had  fallen  on  mankind  since  the  deluge,  as 
they  had  no  religion  to  teach,  no  seeds  of  improvements 
to  sow,  nor  did  they  offer  an  alternative  of  conversion 
or  tribute."  One  invasion  followed  another  from  Genghis 
Khan  to  Tamerlane,  until  the  advent  of  Baber,  the  first 
of  the  Tartar  monarchs,  who  began  his  reign  in  1526. 
He  is  now  believed  to  have  been  "  the  most  admirable, 
though  not  the  most  powerful,  prince  that  ever  reigned 
in  Asia."  With  great  administrative  capacity,  he  was  at 
the  same  time  a  soldier  and  an  athlete,  a  scholar  and  a 
poet. 

With  Shah  Jehan,  the  Mogul  power  may  be  said  to 
have  reached  its  climax ;  after  Aurungzebe  the  decadence 
began,  and  the  invasion  of  the  Persian  conqueror  Nadir 
Shah  gave  it  a  blow  from  which  it  never  recovered.  Then 
followed  the  rise  of  the  Sikh  confederacy  and  the  ascen- 
dency of  the  Mahrattas. 

During  all  this  time,  nothing  approacliing  a  complete 
fusion  of  the  two  races,  a  blending  of  the  Hindoo  and 
Moslem  elements,  has  taken  place,  but  in  many  respects 
the  ways  and  customs  of  each  have  been  more  or  less 
modified  by  the  intimacy  and  contact  of  daily  life,  so  that 
it  is  not  always  easy  to  distinguish  the  one  from  the  other 
by  any  outward  sign.  Even  in  the  matter  of  religious 
observances,  the  lines  of  demarcation  have  been   some- 


348  A  QUESTION  OF  FAITH 

what  softened,  and,  to  quote  from  Mr.  Baines  ^  and  the 
illustrations  which  he  gives,  "in  many  instances  where 
the  two  forms  of  faith  exist  more  or  less  in  numerical 
equality  side  by  side,  the  Brahman  officiates  at  all  family 
ceremonial ;  and  as  it  has  been  put  by  a  local  writer,  the 
convert  to  Islam  observes  the  feasts  of  both  religions  and 
the  fasts  of  neither."  This  state  of  thought  is  very  much 
like  that  described  by  Lady  Mary  Wortley  Montagu  as 
existing  among  the  Macedonian  Arnauts  of  her  time,  who, 
living  between  Christians  and  Mohammedans,  and  "  not 
being  skilled  in  controversy,  declare  that  they  are  utterly 
unable  to  judge  which  religion  is  the  best ;  but  to  be  cer- 
tain of  not  rejecting  the  truth,  they  very  prudently  follow 
both.  They  go  to  the  mosque  on  Friday  and  to  the 
church  on  Sunday,  saying  for  their  excuse  that  at  the  day 
of  judgment  they  are  sure  of  protection  from  the  true 
Prophet,  but  which  that  is  they  are  not  able  to  deter- 
mine in  this  world."  Compare  with  this  the  following 
experience  in  the  present  generation  as  having  occurred  in 
the  eastern  plains  of  the  Punjaub  :  "  A  traveller  entering 
a  rest-house  in  a  Mussulman  village  found  the  headman 
refreshing  the  idol  with  a  new  coat  of  oil,  whilst  a  Brah- 
man read  holy  texts  alongside.  The  pair  seemed  rather 
ashamed  at  being  caught  in  the  act ;  but  on  being  pressed, 
explained  that  their  mulla  (priest)  had  lately  visited  them, 
and,  being  extremely  angry  on  seeing  the  idol,  had  made 
them  bury  it  in  the  sand.  But  now  the  mulla  had  gone, 
they  were  afraid  of  the  possible  consequences,  and  were 
endeavoring  to  console  the  god  for  his  rough  treatment." 
The  scientific  and  ethnological  side  of  the  caste  ques- 
tion has  been  exhaustively  treated,  but  a  stranger,  even 
after  he  had  digested  the  mass  of  erudition  which  has 

*  J.  A.  Baines,  Ceasus  Commissioner  for  India,  1891. 


HINDOOS    AT  A    VILLAGE    WELL 


350  CASTE  MARKS 

accumulated  on  this  subject,  would  still  find  difficulty 
in  distinguishing  one  subdivision  from  another,  and  even, 
in  many  instances,  in  discriminating  between  Hindoos 
and  Mohammedans.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  such  a 
marked  difference  between  certain  of  the  main  divisions, 
whether  religious  or  racial,  as  between  a  Baboo  and  a 
Kajput  or  a  Sikh,  a  Bania  from  Ahmedabad  and  a  Mah- 
ratta,  that  after  having  once  noted  their  principal  char- 
acteristics one  is  in  no  danger  of  forgetting  them  for- 
evermore.  Certainly  no  races  of  Europe  can  show  such 
marked  divergence  of  type  as  those  of  Hindostan.  Then 
there  is  always  the  "  caste  mark,"  which  is  or  should  be 
daily  painted  on  the  forehead  of  every  self-respecting 
Hindoo,  and  this  may  take  the  form  of  a  dab  of  red  paint, 
a  circle  or  an  ellipse,  a  slender  crescent,  or  a  round  dot  of 
gold,  and  the  foreheads  of  certain  hol}'^  men  are  decorated 
with  white  stripes.  The  "  grande  cordon  "  of  the  Brah- 
man which  elevates  him  above  all  lower  castes  is  the 
white  thread  passing  over  his  right  shoulder,  and  which 
is  as  much  a  mark  of  distinction  as  the  rosette  of  some 
European  order  in  contrast  with  the  rank  and  file  wearing 
a  simple  knot  of  ribbon,  or  the  lower  orders  who  have 
no  such  distinguishing  mark.  And  there  is  also  another 
way  of  distinguishing  the  members  of  some  of  the  more 
prominent  castes,  and  that  is  by  the  form  of  their  tur- 
bans, and  in  some  cases  by  slight  variations  of  costume, 
such  as  the  coats  or  jackets  fitted  tightly  around  the 
chest  with  a  curve  flap,  which  in  the  case  of  Hindoos 
is  fastened  on  the  right  side,  and  \vith  Moslems  on  the 
left.  The  inexhaustible  variety  of  shape  and  color  among 
the  turbans  and  caps  is  a  striking  element  in  the  pictu- 
resqueness  of  Indian  street  life,  and  one  which  gives  to 
the  streets  of  Bombay  the  vivacity  of  an  endless  carnival. 
For  in  other  eastern  countries  all  headfjear  is  fashioned 


FASHIONS  IN  HATS  351 

more  or  less  after  one  or  two  prescribed  models.  Among 
the  Mahrattas  alone  there  are  several  startling  variations, 
and  the  turban,  if  one  may  call  it  so,  Avorn  by  the  nobles 
and  grandees  is  shaped  like  a  double-ended  canoe,  Avith 
some  resemblance  also  to  a  cocked  hat  adorned  Avith 
a  gold-lace  cockade,  and  the  rakish  Mahratta  fashion  of 
wearing  it  seems  to  embody  something  of  the  character 
of  this  once  dashing  race  of  freebooters  Avho  raided 
India  for  so  many  years.  To  attempt  the  most  inadequate 
description  of  these  varied  fashions,  or  to  portray  them 
by  a  series  of  illustrations,  Avould  take  the  space  of  more 
than  one  article ;  and  the  stranger  can  hardly  pass  a  day 
in  any  of  the  great  centres  Avithout  seeing  at  least  one  or 
two  turbans  of  unfamiliar  forms,  and,  as  for  their  color, 
the  tints  in  the  most  liberally  assorted  box  of  pastels 
Avould  convey  but  a  feeble  notion  of  the  infinitude  of 
gradations  Avhich  they  display.  These  distinguishing 
marks  of  caste  haA^e  invaded  even  the  more  democratic 
province  of  Islam,  and  certain  fashions  in  Avhich  the  Mus- 
sulman turban  is  Avorn  are  quite  as  distinctive  as  are  the 
Hindoo  head-coverings. 

In  Ahmedabad  we  first  noticed  a  curiously  plaited  Avhite 
turban  built  around  a  skullcap  of  delicate  and  subdued 
tints — a  number  of  men  wearing  these  turbans  and  long 
"kaftans"  of  white  linen  Avere  coming  out  of  a  house 
Avhere  a  great  festi\'al  had  been  giA^en,  a  dinner  of  a  hun- 
dred covers.  We  found  it  impossible  to  procure  one  of 
these  turbans  in  Ahmedabad,  as  they  Avere  Avorn  only  by 
a  certain  order  of  Mussulmans  in  or  near  IJombay,  and 
upon  arriving  in  that  city  Ave  at  once  set  out  on  a  quest 
among  the  turban-makers  shops.  The  special  fabricant  of 
this  peculiar  style  of  head-dress,  Avhen  Ave  found  him, 
proved  to  be  a  little  weazen-faced  Moslem  Avho  sat  ])erched 
in  a  Avindow  looking  out  into  the  bazaar,  and  from  the 


352  A  SINECURE 

"  gharry  "  we  watched  the  opening  of  negotiations  by  the 
servant  who  represented  us.  But  he  was  unfortunately 
only  a  low-caste  Hindoo,  and  his  advances  were  received 
with  disdain  by  the  arrogant  Moslem  hatter,  who  refused 
to  enter  into  any  financial  transaction  with  him  whatever ; 
but  we  finally  obtained  the  coveted  turban  through  the 
friendly  offices  of  Hadj  Mohammed,  a  Mussulman  who 
kept  an  outfitter's  shop  under  our  hotel.  Among  the 
usages  of  the  purely  Mussulman  community  we  recog- 
nize much  which  is  already  familiar  to  us  in  other  Eastern 
countries,  and  quite  as  much  which  is  strictly  local,  and 
there  exists  also  the  still  more  interesting  borderland 
where  the  two  great  creeds  seem  to  have  reached  the 
point  of  mutual  tolerance,  if  not  of  ultimate  fusion.  Every 
shrine  or  place  of  pilgrimage  held  in  honor  by  the  disci- 
ples of  the  Prophet,  and  nearly  every  unfrequented  or 
abandoned  mosque,  is  usually  confided  to  the  guardian- 
ship of  an  ancient  Mussulman,  often  a  relic  by  descent  of 
some  heroic  ancestor,  who  camps  out  with  his  family  in  a 
secluded  corner  of  its  cloisters.  Here  he  leads  a  peaceful 
and  ruminative  existence,  passing  the  long  hot  afternoon 
in  a  shady  corner  under  the  spreading  branches  of  an  an- 
cient fig-tree  or  "peepul,"  droning  aloud  from  the  Koran 
to  his  pupils,  with  an  occasional  pull  at  his  bubbling  water- 
pipe  by  way  of  interlude,  or  a  brief  nap  on  his  straw  car- 
pet. And  while  the  venerable  mulla  slumbers,  the  mon- 
keys or  "  langurs "  let  themselves  cautiously  down  from 
the  branches  overhead  and  investigate  the  frugal  contents 
of  his  larder,  or  gambol  about  the  tank,  while  the  swarms 
of  green  parrots  keep  u])  a  riotous  clamor  among  the  leaves 
overhead.  Ranking  below  the  village  menials  in  the  grad- 
uated series  of  castes  come  the  gypsies  of  India,  who  oc- 
cupy pretty  much  the  same  position  in  the  social  scale 
that  they  do  in  other  countries,  while  they  follow  similar 


354  A  BARBER'S  PARADISE 

callings.  In  point  of  numbers,  and  in  relative  prominence 
as  compared  with  other  castes,  they  are  hardly  important 
enough  to  be  mentioned  at  all  except  for  the  vagueness 
and  mystery  surrounding  their  origin.*  Many  of  them 
are  tinkers,  jugglers,  and  sorcerers,  and  although  I  have 
never  seen  it  stated  that  snake-charraino'  was  amons:  their 
vocations,  a  party  of  swarthy  wizards  who  entertained  us 
with  a  basketful  of  cobras  at  Ahmedabad  had  all  the  sali- 
ent features  of  their  confreres  on  the  Albaicin  at  Gra- 
nada. The  village  barber  and  his  wife  have  a  position 
above  that  of  many  other  castes,  owing  to  the  variety  and 
importance  of  their  social  functions.  Hindoos  alone  have 
many  different  ways  of  wearing  the  hair,  and  Ave  found 
amusement  and  edification  at  Saharunpoor  in  watching 
a  row  of  these  barbers  seated  on  the  ground,  with  their 
cases  of  tools  beside  them,  as  they  operated  on  the  heads 
of  their  constantly  changing  clientele.  Both  Hindoos  and 
Moslems  are  alike  charitable  to  their  poorer  brethren, 
particularly  to  those  who  are  bound  by  religious  vows  to 
lead  a  life  of  mendicity.  The  Mussulman  khamsanah  at 
a  dak  bungalow  treasures  up  Avhat  is  left  of  wasteful 
Christian  dinners,  and  distributes  it  to  his  needy  co-re- 
ligionists on  Fridays  when  they  assemble  in  force.  Many 
and  various  were  the  races  represented  in  these  gather- 
ings at  Amritsar,  notably  those  of  northern  descent,  long- 
haired Beloochees,  Afghans,  and  other  waifs  from  over 
the  border,  all  eager  to  profit  by  this  semi-official  bounty. 
One  can  hardly  live  a  day  in  India  without  assimilating 
some  new  fact  bearing  upon  the  endless  sub-divisions  and 

*  Some  years  ago,  at  a  dance  given  by  a  band  of  Andalusian  gypsies, 
I  noticed  tlieir  marked  resemblance  to  low-caste  Hindoos  not  only  in  feat- 
ure but  in  the  quality  of  tlieir  skin  and  hair,  and  a  Spanish  acquaint- 
ance seemed  firmly  convinced  of  their  Indian  origin.  This  is  also  the 
theory  of  Mr.  Baines,  who  finds  many  arguments  to  support  it. 


356  A  HINDOO  CKITIC 

infinitesimal  gradations  of  caste,  and  as  in  the  literary, 
artistic,  and  social  worlds  of  other  hemispheres,  the  prin- 
cipal divisions  which  would  seem  at  first  sight  to  the  un- 
initiated outsider  to  consist  of  pretty  much  the  same  sort 
of  people,  are  found,  when  attentively  examined,  to  ex- 
hibit unexpected  divergences,  and  to  be  composed  of  hos- 
tile units  all  animated  by  a  common  tendency  to  cluster 
together,  to  form  nuclei,  and  then  to  subdivide  again. 


II 

The  Hindoo  globe-trotter  takes  delight,  not  altogether 
free  from  a  spark  of  malice,  in  pointing  out  the  beam  in 
the  eyes  of  other  Aryan  brothers  Avhich  has  been  thought 
to  exist  only  in  his  own.  "  You  too  have  caste,"  said  one 
of  the  Hindoos  at  the  Chicago  Fair,  "  but  your  caste  is 
founded  on  money  alone."  In  a  recent  book  about  Eng- 
land and  the  English,  written  by  a  Hindoo,  the  author 
w^ho  had  heard  Englishmen  talk  about  the  baneful  effects 
of  caste  in  India  as  if  they  had  none  in  England,  says,  "A 
poor  man  there  is  a  Sudra;*  and  a  rich  man,  a  lord,  a 
peer,  a  Brahman,  a  born  legislator,  statesman,  and  every- 
thing else."  And  yet  upon  the  whole  he  is  a  "friendly 
critic,"  as  the  Times  of  India  reviewer  assures  us,  who 
found  much  to  admire  in  British  institutions.  With  the 
spread  of  education  among  subordinate  castes,  the  su- 
premacy of  the  Brahman,  and  the  exclusive  monopolj^  in 
matters  intellectual  which  he  formerly  enjoyed,  are  rajv 
idly  waning.  The  class  which  seems  to  have  made  the 
most  capital  out  of  the  new  order  of  things  is  the  some- 
what loosely  defined  but  widely  distributed  portion  of  the 
Hindoo  population  known  as  Bengalis  or  Baboos.     When 

*  The  lowest  and  most  degraded  caste. 


SIMPLE   COSTUMES 


357 


they  are  conservative  enougli  to  cling  to  the  primitive 
costume  of  their  forefathers,  which  was  evidently  not 
designed  to  foster  the  vice  of  vanity  among  its  wearers, 
there  is  little  difficulty  in  distinguishing  them  from  other 
subjects  of  the  Queen-Empress.  These  orthodox  Baboos 
wear  nothing  on  their  heads  to  cover  their  close-cropped 
shocks  of  black  hair,  although  they  usually  carry  a  white 
cotton  umbrella ;  their  principal  garment  is  a  long  piece 


•-^'@ 


HINDOO    WOMEN, SUBURBS    OF    BOMBAY 


358  A  QUESTION   OF   STYLE 

of  Avhite  drapery  called  a  "  dhotee,"  leaving  their  arms 
and  legs  bare,  and  worn  something  after  the  fashion  of  a 
Roman  toga.  Other  characteristic  features  of  their  cos- 
tume are  the  low  patent-leather  shoes,  and  white  socks, 
which  have  a  tendency  to  hang  down,  leaving  visible  large 
surfaces  of  fat,  brown  shanks,  as  these  people  are  inclined 
to  be  of  full  and  portly  habit.  Gold-rimmed  spectacles 
often  add  a  touch  of  modern  "actuality"  to  this  some- 
what archaic  costume. 

There  is  a  prevalent  belief  among  the  more  progressive 
members  of  this  class  that  a  European  costume,  or,  what 
is  more  common,  a  sort  of  compromise  between  the  dress 
of  the  undisguised  Baboo  and  the  Englishman,  is  the  first 
step  in  the  direction  of  worldly  success.  As  a  recent  critic 
remarks,  "  In  as  small  a  matter  as  getting  off  a  tram-car, 
I  have  repeatedly  observed  that  Baboos  in  coats  and  trou- 
sers risk  their  lives  in  a  flying  leap,  while  others  in  dhotee 
and  bare  feet  insist  on  the  car  stopping  before  they  trust 
their  precious  persons  to  the  ground."  Whatever  may  be 
his  dress  he  runs  no  risk  of  being  mistaken  for  a  member 
of  any  of  the  military  castes,  and  in  case  of  war  it  would 
probably  never  occur  to  the  ruling  powers  to  raise  an 
army  from  among  this  industrious  and  prolific  section  of 
the  community.  But  in  a  country  where  everything  has 
been  specialized  from  the  very  beginning,  no  one  seems  to 
respect  this  class  the  less,  on  account  of  its  pacific  disposi- 
tion. And  yet  some  of  their  severest  critics  may  be  found 
among  their  own  order.  One  of  their  pundits  with  an  his- 
toric name  lately  remarked,  "  You  can  no  more  make  a 
gentleman  out  of  a  Bengali  than  carve  a  fine  image  out 
of  rotten  wood."  He  and  others  believe  that  the  Bengali 
has  little  stability  or  force  of  character,  and  that  new  in- 
stitutions or  movements  which  originate  among  them  fail 
to  inspire  any  marked  degree  of  public  confidence  unless 


ENGLISH  AS  SHE   IS   WROTE  359 

propped  up  by  the  support  of  some  European  element, 
however  slight.  And  as  a  general  thing  the  Bengali  will 
rely  more  on  the  word  of  an  Englishman  than  on  that  of 
his  fellow-countr^'men.  But  on  the  other  hand  it  cannot 
be  denied  that  these  people  represent  much  of  the  brain 
and  intelHgence  of  native  India.  They  edit  papers  and 
are  born  agitators,  criticising  the  policy  of  the  govern- 
ment, and  saying  whatever  it  pleases  them  to  think  upon 
political  matters  in  their  societies,  as  well  as  in  their  jour- 
nals, for  they  are  usually  endowed  with  the  gift  of  volu- 
bility and  rapid  utterance,  and  freelv  express  their  minds 
in  "  high-falutin'  "  and  more  or  less  Shakespearian  English. 
"With  the  steady  progress  of  modern  ideas  and  education 
the  examples  of  Baboo  English,  Avhicli  once  delighted 
Anglo-Indian  readers,  are  becoming  rarer,  and  we  may 
never  have  another  book  equal  to  the  well-known  biog- 
raphy of  Onoocool  Chunder  Mookerjee.*     A  gentleman 


*  The  writer  cannot  do  better  than  quote  the  opening  lines  of  this  re- 
marliable  worlc  for  the  instruction  of  those  not  familiar  with  the  author's 
style  :  "The  Memoir  of  the  late  Hon'ble  Justice  Onoocool  Chunder 
Mookerjee.  Let  me  hold  my  Penrui  after  a  few  months,  to  write  the 
memoir  of  the  individual  above-named  :  but  quid  agis  '/  if  anyone  put 
me  such  a  quer}-,  I  will  be  utterly  thrown  into  a  great  jeopardy  and 
hurlej'-burley,  and  say — a  fool  of  myself!  As  a  spider  spins  web  for  its 
own  destruction,  or  as  when  the  clown  who  was  busy  in  digging  a  grave 
for  'Ophelia,' was  asked  by  Ilamlet,  '  Whos  grave's  this  Sirrah  ?' said, 
■"  Mine  Sir,'  so  in  writing  one's  memoir  I  am  as  if  to  dig  my  own  grave 
in  it.  To  write  one's  memoir,  or  to  write  in  such  a  way  as  the  literary 
public  may  fall  in  love  with,  is  a  task  difhcuU  in  the  extreme,  especially 
of  such  a  man  as  the  late  Ilon'ble  Justice  Mookerjee.  He  was  no  poet 
that  I  may  put  some  such  writing  in  print,  full  of  poetical  thoughts, 
which  the  public  did  not  see,  or  recite  some  such  stirring  events,  as  in- 
duced him  to  write  into  measured  lines  some  such  subjects,  which  the 
public  are  already  in  possession  of  and  thereby  please  them." 

An  official  while  in  town  left  a  pony  in  charge  of  a  native  subor- 
dinate, from  whom  it  escaped.     The  native  explained  the  matter  in  a 


360  HINDOO  ADAPTABILITY 

who  has  been  for  many  years  connected  with  the  man- 
agement of  one  of  the  northern  railways  does  not  think 
that  they  are  actually  supplanting  Europeans,  but  that  on 
the  contrary  they  are  often  elbowed  out  by  "  poor  whites," 
a  class  which  formerly  did  not  exist,  the  sons  of  Euro- 
peans, or  "  Eurasians,"  for  the  most  part  laborers  and  me- 
chanics, when  they  can  find  employment.  On  the  other 
hand,  fewer  Europeans  now  fill  the  posts  of  station-mas- 
ters, engine-drivers,  or  guards,  and  natives  trained  for  the 
work  are  rapidly  replacing  them,  Natives,  particularly 
of  the  Baboo  class,  now  hold  a  larger  number  of  ofiicial 
appointments  than  was  formerly  the  case  in  accordance 
with  recent  official  decisions.  My  informant  thinks  that 
they  are  excellently  organized  for  office  and  routine  work, 
though  not  reliable  in  case  of  emergencies,  and  personally 
he  would  rather  employ  a  native  for  any  post  worth  under 
100  rupees  a  month  than  a  European,  as  he  can  procure  a 
better  stamp  of  man  in  a  native  at  that  price.  But  these 
adaptive  and  versatile  Hindoos  are  rapidly  crowding  out 
Europeans  from  minor  clerkly  employments,  since  the}^ 
can  make  a  better  appearance  on  less  money.  Among 
their  ranks  may  be  found  journalists,  politicians,  and 
scribes  of  every  description,  advocates,  attorneys,  and 
judges.  Many  have  achieved  distinction  at  the  bar,  in 
politics,  and  in  literature.  The  poetess  Torn  Dutt,  Avhom 
Edmund  Gosse  calls  a  "  fragile,  exotic  blossom  of  song,"^ 
was  the  daughter  of  the  Baboo  Govin  Chunder  Dutt,  and 
before  the  age  of  twenty  she  had  attained  such  a  mastery 
of  French  that  her  romance  Le  Journal  de  Mile.  <VArvei's 

letter  to  his  "  sahib";  "I  have  tlie  lionour  to  report  that  the  little  horse, 
since  your  honour's  departiire,  has  assumed  a  devil-may-care  attitude 
and  has  become  violently  obstreperous.  Tiiis  morning  at  6  \rsi.  the  said 
little  horse  eloped  from  my  custody,  but,  with  tiie  favour  of  Heaven,  he 
may  return." 


SNAKE-CIIARMKU 


562  SYMBOLS  OF  FAITH 

received  much  commendation  in  Paris,  and  her  ancient 
ballads  and  legends  of  Hindostan  are  full  of  passages 
which  few  would  wish  to  see  changed,  and  which  show  a 
wonderful  mastery  of  English  verse.  Without  falling  into 
the  error  of  judging  a  race  by  rare  exceptions  and  of 
"booming  the  Baboo"  prematurely,  it  is  evident  that  he 
is  having  a  chance  for  the  first  time  in  history,  and  that 
he  is  not  backward  in  makinsr  the  most  of  it. 


Ill 
One  of  the  vital  problems  of  government  in  India  to- 
day is  the  maintenance  of  harmony  between  the  two 
principal  religious  factions.  This  is  by  no  means  a  new 
question,  but  one  which  has  taken  many  different  forms 
since  the  days  of  the  tolerant  Akbar,  who,  although  sur- 
rounded by  fanatical  priests  and  followers,  showed  him- 
self to  be  far  freer  from  race  prejudice  than  some  mon- 
-archs  of  the  present  day ;  and  the  latest  development  of 
this  problem,  reduced  to  its  lowest  terms  by  the  press  of 
India,  is  the  "  Cow  Question,"  or  "  cow  t'*-.  pig."  These 
two  peaceable  animals  have  been  dragged  into  the  con- 
troversies between  the  disciples  of  jVIohammed  and  of 
Brahma,  where  they  have  been  made  to  play  not  merely 
the  part  of  animate  symbols,  but  that  of  active  partici- 
pants in  the  frequent  local  outbursts  of  religious  frenzy. 
Some  years  ago  one  of  the  first  of  many  similar  emeutes 
was  caused  by  the  discovery  of  a  live  pig  in  the  sacred 
precincts  of  the  great  mosque  at  Delhi.  To  the  stranger 
forced  to  be  content  with  general  impressions,  and  lack- 
ing the  time,  or  perhaps  the  disposition,  to  look  beneath 
the  surface,  the  chief  cause  of  contention  between  the 
partisans  of  the  two  great  creeds  miglit  appear  a  trivial 
matter ;  but  the  real  question  lies  deeper,  and  is  not  to  be 


A  FOOD  QUESTION  363 

treated  in  either  a  facetious  or  a  zoological  vein.  Far 
from  seeing  anything  laughable  in  the  aspect  which 
these  dissensions  have  taken  of  late,  the  local  press  in- 
clines to  treat  the  matter  with  great  seriousness ;  and 
with  good  reason,  since  the  immediate  cause  of  the  mu- 
tiny has  again  been  admitted,  after  all,  to  have  been  the 
greased  cartridges  smeared  with  animal  fat,  objectionable 
alike  to  Hindoo  and  Moslem.  While  the  cow  is  the  more 
serious  cause  of  these  lamentable  differences  of  opinion, 
and  will  always  remain  a  casus  lelli,  the  pig  is  dragged 
into  the  conflict,  and  most  unwillingly,  b}'^  the  Hindoos, 
to  be  used  with  never  -  failing  success  as  a  weapon  of  of- 
fence against  their  adversaries,  and  ofttimes  as  a  missile. 
The  Mussulman  sees  no  reason  why  he  should  be  debarred 
from  eating  beef  by  the  prejudice  of  the  Hindoo,  but 
wherever  the  Hindoo  is  numerically  strong  enough  he 
will  prevent  him.  On  the  other  hand,  a  Hindoo  writer 
in  the  Tohfa-i-Hhid^  in  descanting  on  the  evils  of  cow- 
killing,  says  :  "  To  kill  such  a  highly  useful  animal  to  sup- 
ply one  day's  food  (for  a  few  men)  is  downright  folly,  and 
those  w^ho  destroy  such  an  animal  for  the  purpose  of  food 
deserve  to  be  regarded  with  abhorrence.  Besides,  cows' 
flesh  is  most  injurious  to  health.  The  writer  has  got  a 
large  number  of  ancient  books  on  medicine  in  his  pos- 
session, written  by  Mohammedans,  in  which  cows'  flesh  is 
distinctly  condemned  as  deleterious  and  productive  of  lep- 
rosy. Her  blood,  too,  is  described  as  a  deadly  poison  in 
its  effect.  Again,  in  the  old  books  on  cookery,  of  which, 
too,  the  writer  possesses  a  goodly  lot.  modes  of  preparing 
food  of  the  flesh  of  other  animals  are  given,  but  nowhere 
cows'  flesh  is  mentioned.  All  this  clearly  shows  that  cows" 
flesh  cannot  be  used  bv  man  without  doin^:  threat  iniurv 
to  his  body.''  This  thorough  -  paced  vegetarian  is  flrmly 
convinced  that  cow-killin"-  was  introduced  into  India  un- 


364 


SACRED   ANIMALS 


^i-icr" 


der  British  rule,  in  proof 
of  which  he  points  to  the 
spread  of  leprosy,  and  Avhat 
he  calls  "the  increasino: 
spread  of  famines."*  The 
feeling  among  the  Hindoos 
against  the  wanton  destruc- 
tion of  these  sacred  animals 
by  their  gluttonous  adversa- 
ries and  former  tyrants  has 
reached  such  a  height  that 
an  "anti-cow-killing  league" 
has  been  formed  and  is  rap- 
idly growing  in  strength.  A 
riot  caused  by  this  sentiment 
occurred  last  year  at  Gazi- 
pur,but  serious  consequences 
were  averted  by  the  prompt  action  of  the  authorities.  A 
number  of  Hindoos  convicted  of  having  caused  the  disturb- 
ance appealed  from  the  judgment  of  the  chief  magistrate 
of  Benares,  sentencing  them  to  a  term  of  imprisonment, 
and  the  main  facts  were  again  stated  in  court.  One  Wazir 
Ali,  the  "zemindar,"  or  headman  of  a  village,  and  a  Mussul- 
man, as  his  name  implies,  was  about  to  give  a  feast  to  cele- 
brate the  marriafje  of  his  daug-hter.  But  the  local  butcher 
would  not  sell  him  any  beef,  on  account  of  the  feeling 
among  the  Hindoos,  who  are  in  the  majority  in  that  prov- 
ince. Then  Wazir  Ali  bethought  himself  of  his  own  cow, 
but  not  being  discreet  enough  to  keep  his  nefarious  design  to 
himself,  the  Hindoos  got  wind  of  it  and  spread  the  news 
throughout  the  neighborhood.  Some  of  them  ran  to  the 
next  village, shouting,  "Cows  are  going  to  be  killed  in  Mauf 


BKLOOCHEE 


Times  of  India,  ]\Iarch  13,  1894. 


f  Muu,  name  of  town. 


FORBIDDEN  FRUIT" 


365 


to-day  at  Wazir's  house  !  All  go  to  the  temple  of  Mahabir. 
Whoever  does  not  go,  let  him  be  held  guilty  of  eating 
cow!"  When  an  armed  crowd  had  collected,  numberinjr 
between  two  and  three  thousand  Hindoos,  Ram  Gulam 
Lai  and  a  Brahman  were  deputed  to  go  to  Wazir  Ali,  and 
tell  him  that  if  he  killed  his  cow,  ''  his  house  would  be 
looted  and  he  himself  probably  killed." 

Wazir  Ali,  at  a  loss  for  some  way  of  feeding  his  guests, 
proposed  to  kill  a  buffalo  calf,  if  he  could  find  one,  and 
appealed  to  the  local  authorities  to  protect  him  in  this  ex- 
ercise of  his  civil  rights.  But  the  mob  had  determined  to 
prevent  him  from  killing  either  cow  or  buffalo,  and  threat- 
ened to  loot  the  village ;  some  one  was  heard  to  say  that 
British  rule  would  not  last  three  years ;  but  upon  the  ar- 
rival of  the  representatives  of  the  law  and  the  display  of 
force  the  ringleaders  were  arrested,  and  the  mob  finally 
broken  up  and  dispersed. 

Opinions  differ  as  to  the 
extent  to  which  the  '*  cow- 
protection  "  movement  is 
responsible  for  the  late  dis- 
turbance in  Bombay.  That 
it  was  one  of  the  causes 
seems  to  be  generally  ad- 
mitted. In  this  instance 
the  agitation  had  been  fer- 
menting for  several  weeks 
previous  to  the  outbreak, 
and  the  police  were  ready. 
In  the  list  of  resolutions 
issuetl  bv  the  local  o-overn- 
ment  of  Bombay  a  few 
months  after  the  riot  some 
of  these  causes  are  alluded 


366  FANATICISM 

to,  and  there  are  many  curious  facts  which  give  an  idea  of 
the  prevailing  character  of  these  religious  or  semi-relig- 
ious disturbances  and  the  course  which  they  usually  take. 
There  had  been  a  growing  ill-feeling  between  the  two  fac- 
tions which  had  manifested  itself  in  various  ways,  and,  as 
the  Commissioner  of  Police  reports,  the  causes  of  the  final 
outbreak  "  were  both  predisposing  and  immediate."  lie 
had  with  much  difficulty  prevented  the  leaders  of  the 
"Cow  Protection  Society"  from  parading  thousands  of 
these  domestic  animals  through  the  streets  on  the  occa- 
sion of  their  anniversary  in  April.  A  rival  society  was 
formed  for  the  purpose  of  preaching  the  same  views  with 
greater  energy  ;  and  their  agents  obtained  a  large  plot 
of  land,  where  they  intended  to  sequestrate  all  the  cattle 
which  they  had  intercepted  and  purchased  on  the  road  to 
Bombay.  "  Pictures  and  pamphlets  illustrating  the  sanc- 
tity of  the  cow,  and  the  sin  of  slaughtering  it,  were  also 
sold  and  distributed  all  over  the  Presidency,  but  chiefly 
in  Bombay."  The  secretary  of  one  of  these  societies  went 
to  the  commissioner  and  urged  him  to  prohibit  the  prac- 
tice of  slaughtering  cattle,  which  had  existed  for  centuries 
in  Bombay,  but  he  naturally  refused  to  interfere.  In  spite 
of  all  the  precautions  taken,  and  the  vigilance  of  the  au- 
thorities, hostilities  broke  out,  as  had  been  anticipated, 
on  a  Friday,*  and  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Jumma  Mujid. 
When  the  crowd  of  Mussulman  worshippers — which  was 
unusually  large,  numbering  over  a  thousand — began  to 
leave  the  mosque  at  one  o'clock,  after  the  noonday 
prayers,  it  was  evident  that  there  Mas  a  concerted  move- 
ment among  them,  which  presently  developed  into  a  tu- 
multuous rush  towards  the  Masuti  temple.  Notwith- 
standing the  efforts  of  a  large  number  of  law-abiding 

*  August  II,  1893. 


RIOT  AND    RUIN  3G7 

Mussulmans,  aided  by  tlie  police,  to  quell  the  excite- 
ment, sticks  were  brandished,  stones  thrown,  and  with 
loud  shouts  of  "Din  !  Din!"  the  mob  attacked  the  Ilindoa 
shop-keepers,  rushing  down  the  neighboring  streets,  and 
assailing  the  police  and  mounted  '"Sowars"  with  their 
clubs  and  with  volleys  of  stones  and  tiles.  In  the  mean- 
time other  riots  had  broken  out  in  various  quarters ;  and 
as  the  bands  of  infuriated  Mussulmans  were  driven  from 
one  street  to  another,  or  dispersed  by  the  police  and  the 
troops  which  had  now  been  called  out  to  aid  them,  they 
would  again  unite  and  attack  the  hated  cow  protectors 
and  all  who  stood  in  their  way.  Detachments  from  tlie 
Bombay  Volunteer  Light  Horse  Artillery  and  Rifles,  and 
also  from  the  Marine  Battalion,  as  well  as  several  other 
strong  bodies  of  native  troops,  now  came  to  the  rescue, 
and  guns  were  posted  at  the  intersections  of  streets.  For 
several  days  the  tumult  raged — not,  it  would  seem,  in  one 
continuous  battle,  but  in  a  series  of  riots,  followed  by  in- 
tervals of  quiet,  and  again  breaking  out  afresh.  Hindoo 
temples  and  Mussulman  mosques  were  desecrated,  idols 
were  broken,  stables  where  cattle  were  kept  set  on  fire, 
and  even  the  poor  buffaloes,  which  partake  of  the  sanc- 
tity of  the  cow  only  in  a  remote  degree,  did  not  escape ; 
shops  Avere  looted,  and  crowds  of  Mussulmans  escorting 
the  biers  containing  their  dead  were  assaulted  in  their  turn 
by  the  Hindoos.  And  so  the  struggle  went  on,  until  the 
arrival  of  fresli  troops  from  Poona  finally  put  an  end  to 
it.  Among  the  most  desperate  combatants  Avere  bands 
of  "  Seedy  boys  "  and  Pathans,  and  even  Mahrattas  were 
dragged  into  the  fray,  but  in  no  instance  known  was  any 
European  attacked  unless  a  member  of  the  police  force  or 
a  soldier.  Over  fifteen  hundred  rioters  were  arrested,  of 
which  number  the  Mohammedans  were  largely  in  excess, 
and  in  some  instances  heavy  sentences  of  imprisonment 


368  THE   PIG   COMES  TO  THE  FRONT 

were  imposed.  In  summing  up  tlie  causes  of  this  disturb- 
ance some  months  later,  the  Governor  considered  that  one 
of  the  main  causes  of  the  outbreak  was  tlie  infections 
spread  by  the  riots  which  had  broken  out  in  other  parts 
of  India,  and  especially  those  at  Prabas  Pathan.* 

Mussulmans  are  quite  well  aware  that  the  tender  senti- 
ments of  the  Hindoos  in  regard  to  cows  are  of  old  stand- 
ing, and  also,  on  the  other  hand,  that  in  all  stations  where 
Englishmen  reside  the  supply  of  beef  is  regularly  forth- 
coming, although  precautions  are  always  taken  to  avoid 
wounding  the  susceptibilities  of  the  Hindoos.  It  appears 
also  from  the  reports  that  no  amount  of  foresight  could 
have  averted  the  uprising,  but  at  the  same  time  a  stronger 
display  of  military  force  at  the  outset  might  have  pre- 
vented much  violence.  And  here  we  touch  upon  a  ten- 
der point,  for  it  seems  that  in  England  there  is  a  party 
which  is  always  ready  to  decry  any  resort  to  arms,  or 
any  unnecessary  manifestation  of  force  in  India. 

Now  we  come  to  another  class  of  disturbances,  of  a 
more  purely  rehgious  or  rather  sectarian  character,  in 
which  the  cow  is  relegated  to  the  background,  and  the 
pig  plays  the  part  of  the  spark  which  explodes  the  maga- 
zine. Yeola,  the  scene  of  the  latest  riot,  is  a  town  where 
the  Hindoo  part  of  the  population  far  outnumbers  the 
Mohammedan  section.     According  to  the  Hindoo  version 

*  The  beginnings  of  the  disturbance  were  seen  at  Prabas  Pathan,  a 
village  in  the  Junagadh  territory,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  famous  shrine 
of  Somnath,  where  during  the  "taboot  procession"  an  onslaught  upon 
the  Hindoos  was  made  by  the  31ussulmans,  in  which  eleven  were  killed 
nud  many  injured.  Tlie  incident  naturally  created  much  excitement  in 
Bombay  among  both  Hindoos  and  Mohanunedans,  and  meetings  were 
held  by  the  respective  communities,  at  which  subscriptions  were  raised 
for  defraying  the  cost  of  prosecution  and  defence  in  the  judicial  pro- 
ceedings that  were  to  follow  the  riots,  and  to  relieve  the  feelings  of  the 
victims. — Times  of  India,  January  1,  1894. 


POMP  AND  CEREMONY  369 

of  this  affair,  the  misunderstanding  first  began  on  Sep- 
tember 15,  1893,  when,  as  has  been  the  custom  from 
time  immemorial,  the  Hindoos  are  wont  to  take  their 
idol  in  procession  accompanied   by  bands   of  musicians 


PITBMC    LKTTKR-WRITER,   LAHORE 

playing  the  deafening  music  which  is  thought  to  ap- 
pease his  wrath,  but  which  is  peculiarly  irritating  to 
Mussulman  ears,  and  after  promenading  him  through  the 
town  with  much  pomp  and  ceremony,  sitting  in  state  in 
a  towering  car,  gorgeous  with  red  and  gold,  they  conduct 
him  to  the  temple.  Unfortunately  for  the  idol  and  his 
faithful  followers,  the  procession  was  made  to  pass  the 
PateFs  mosque,  where  a  strong  body  of  fierce  descend- 
ants of  the  Prophet  was  lying  in  ambush,  eager  to  swoop 
down  on  the  noisy  infidels."     The  Ilindcjos  say  that  the 

*  In  these  religious  processious  each  sect  delights  to  jiarade  tlirough 
the  enemy's  part  of  the  town,  and  it  is  only  b}'  the  exercise  of  muck 
diplomacy  on  the  part  of  the  local  authorities  that  collisions  are  pre 
vented. 

24 


370  TROUBLE  BREWING 

principal  magistrate,  who  happened  to  be  a  Mohammedan, 
the  only  other  magistrate  in  authority  having  left  the 
village,  then  showed  himself,  and  obliged  the  procession 
to  take  another  route,  which  allayed  the  excitement  for 
the  moment,  but  gave  great  cause  of  offence  to  the  Hin- 
doos. As  succeeding  events  proved,  the  outbreak  was 
only  postponed,  and  the  measures  taken  at  the  time  were 
injudicious  and  satisfactory  to  neither  party.  The  Dus- 
sera  festival  was  to  take  place  shortly,  and  as  more 
trouble  was  apprehended  by  the  local  authorities,  a  num- 
ber of  orders  and  proclamations  w^ere  issued,  some  of 
which  appear  to  have  conflicted  with  each  other,  and  did 
not  produce  the  anticipated  effect.  The  procession  was 
ordered  not  to  pass  any  mosque  between  the  10th  and 
the  ITth  of  October,  but  was  allowed  to  pass  certain 
specified  mosques  at  given  dates  and  hours.  Further- 
more, no  musical  instrument  except  a  gong  should  be 
played  within  fifteen  paces  on  each  side  of  a  mosque. 
The  Mohammedans,  on  the  other  hand,  were  not  to  as- 
semble in  their  mosques  "for  any  unlawful  purpose"  at 
these  times,  or  their  mosques  would  be  locked  up.  This 
measure,  as  might  have  been  expected,  gav^e  umbrage  to 
the  Mohammedans. 

These  various  attempts  on  the  part  of  the  local  powers 
to  smooth  matters  over  seem  also  to  have  grievously  an- 
noyed the  Hindoos  as  well ;  for  their  most  important 
ceremony  on  the  day  of  Dussera,  which  fell  this  year  on 
October  15th,  did  not  take  place  at  all.  On  this  occa- 
sion they  assemble  in  Balajee's  temple,  and  take  the  idol 
out  for  an  airing  in  the  suburbs  of  the  town.  Although 
the  temple  was  protected  by  a  detachment  of  soldiers,  the 
managers  of  the  procession  complained  that  their  god 
Balajee  had  been  insulted  and  deeply  injured  by  the  de- 
risive yells  and  cries  of  the  Mussulman  roughs  and  irrev- 


AN  OUTBREAK  371 

erent  small  boys,  that  the  ceremony  was  useless  without 
the  customary  music  of  horns  and  tom-toms,  and,  further- 
more, that  if  they  could  not  start  when  they  were  ready, 
they  would  not  go  at  all.  Their  state  of  mind  was  fur- 
ther aggravated  when  it  was  found  that  the  stone  bull 
had  been  removed  from  his  accustomed  place  of  honor  in 
the  Temple  of  Shree  Trimbakeshwar,  and,  to  crown  all, 
the  Mohammedans  had  forcibly  entered  by  night  the 
most  sacred  shrine  and  place  of  pilgrimage  in  Yeola,  the 
tomb  of  the  founder  of  the  city,  removed  the  god,  and 
thrown  him  in  the  ditch.  It  was  not  until  some  months 
after  these  incidents  that  the  actual  uprising  occurred. 

Without  attempting  to  further  unravel  the  conflicting 
statements  of  either  side,  or  trying  to  make  them  cor- 
respond, which  is  the  business  of  the  local  chronicler,  this, 
briefly,  is  what  happened.  While  the  excitement  was 
spreading,  and  the  agitators  on  both  sides  were  diligent- 
ly laboring,  the  accursed  pig  was  discovered  in  the  Patel's 
mosque,  and  under  peculiarly  aggravating  circumstances. 
The  pig  had  been  cut  in  two,  in  order  to  deflle  the  mosque 
in  the  most  thorough  manner,  and,  wild  with  excitement, 
the  Mussulmans  were  rushing  about  and  crying  out  for 
vengeance,  when  it  was  found  that  the  mosque  was  on 
fire  I  Now  their  frenzy  became  uncontrollable,  and  they 
hurried  in  a  body  to  the  Mulhidar  temple,  where  they 
massacred  a  cow  within  the  holy  enclosure,  and  in  a  man- 
ner exasperating  to  Hindoo  feelings.  While  this  was 
going  on,  the  Are  in  the  mosque,  which  had  been  kindled 
with  cans  of  kerosene,  was  gaining  ground,  and  the  men 
who  were  working  to  extinguish  it  were  pelted  with  vol- 
leys of  stones  from  natives  posted  on  the  opposite  iiouse- 
tops.  They  were  ordered  to  refrain  by  those  in  author- 
ity, but  upon  their  refusing  to  do  so  they  Avere  fired  on 
by  tlie  police  with  blank-cartridges,  and  then  dosed  with 


3V2 


SEVERE  MEASURES 


buckshot.  Other  mosques  and  houses  of  Mohammedans 
were  now  on  fire,  the  local  magistrates  began  to  arrive, 
and  then  fresh  bodies  of  police  and  the  volunteers.  The 
tumult  was  finally  quelled,  but  after  it  had  lasted  for 
seven  hours,  during  which  time  much  destruction  of  prop- 
erty had  taken  place,  and  considerable  loss  of  life.  The 
pig  story  is  now  discredited  by  some  of  the  Hindoo  jour- 
nalists who  are  anxious  to  prove  that  their  enemies  were 
the  aggressors  in  every  instance. 
The  "  Gaurakshina  Sabha,"  as  the  cow-protection  so- 


tP:     M 


FAKIR,   TWIMGIIT 


SOPHISTRY  •         373 

ciety  calls  itself,*  was  established  ostensibly  for  the  pro- 
tection and  improvement  of  cattle,  and  so  long  as  it 
occupies  itself  with  its  original  object  it  cannot  fail  to 
be  of  great  utility  in  a  country  where  animals  are  often 
overworked  and  ill-used,  in  spite  of  the  belief  that  human 
souls  may  be  incarnate  in  their  bodies.  But  while  men 
of  position  on  both  sides  and  social  leaders  are  alike 
interested  in  the  maintenance  of  peace  and  order,  there 
is  evidence  which  strengthens  the  belief  that  professional 
agitators  have  been  travelling  from  place  to  place  using 
the  name  of  this  or  of  other  societies  to  further  their 
designs,  and  devising  new  schemes  by  which  they  expect 
to  profit  at  the  expense  of  their  dupes. 

A  Bengal  rajah  who  was  recently  interviewed,  and 
invited  to  address  a  meeting  on  the  subject  of  the  cow- 
protection  movement,  declined  to  do  so,  but  stated  in  the 
course  of  conversation  his  belief  that  "  the  cow  question 
was  the  political  question  of  the  day  ;"  and  also  that  "  cow 
protection  and  the  protection  of  all  our  temples  and  re- 
ligious institutions,  religious  rites  and  interests,  depend 
on  the  peace  of  the  country,  and  those  who  foolishly  try 
to  play  with  the  foundation-stone  in  the  shape  of  the 
peace  of  our  society  are  self-destroyers,  and  in  my  opin- 
ion worse  than  persons  who  commit  suicide."  Another 
opinion  on  this  subject,  delivered  by  a  Parsee  while  on  a 
recent  visit  to  America  is  worth  recording.f  He  saj's 
that  "  the  riots  in  India  were  not  directed  against  British 
domination  at  all — all  the  leading  business  men,  the  edu- 
cated classes,  and  even  the  great  middle  classes  of  Indians 
are  warm  adherents  of  British  rule  and  policies  of  gov- 
ernment. It  is  difficult  to  make  people  understand  tlie 
true  cause  and  exact  scope  of  those  riots  who  know  little 

*  lu  Bebar.  f  liultimarc  American. 


374  THE  ARM   OF  THE  LAW 

of  the  intricate  lines  of  religious  and  secular  thought  and 
life  in  that  country.  The  question  which  agitates  India 
to-day  is  not  some  great  problem  of  internal  government, 
but  the  cow  question." 

Above  all  this  tumult  of  misguided  and  over-zealous 
religionists,  and  calmly  superior,  the  government  of  India 
sits,  majestically  enthroned,  and  armed  like  Jove  ^yiih  an 
ample  supply  of  thunderbolts  with  which  to  strike  the 
erring  of  either  creed.  In  the  address  of  the  late  Viceroy 
at  Agra,  he  affirms  the  strict  neutrality  of  the  govern- 
ment, "  a  neutrality  not  based  on  indifference,"  but  upon 
an  equal  respect  for  both  the  great  historic  religions  of 
India  and  he  also  declares  that  "  the  government  of  India 
is  under  a  twofold  obligation.  We  owe  it  to  the  whole 
community,  British  and  Indian,  to  secure  the  public  safe- 
ty, and  to  protect  the  persons  and  property  of  the  Queen's 
subjects  from  injury  and  interference ;  we  are  also  bound 
to  secure  to  both  the  great  religious  denominations  free- 
dom from  molestation  or  persecution  in  the  exercise  of 
their  religious  observances.  The  law  secures  to  the  Mo- 
hammedans the  right  of  following  the  ritual  which  has 
been  customary  for  them  and  for  their  forefathers,  while 
it  secures  to  the  Hindoos  protection  from  outrage  and 
insult,  and  for  this  reason  forbids  the  slaughter  of  cattle 
with  unnecessary  publicity,  or  in  such  a  manner  as  will 
occasion  wanton  or  malicious  annoyances  to  their  feel- 
ings. Let  both  sides  understand  clearly  that  no  lawless 
or  aggressive  conduct  on  their  part  Avill  induce  us  to  de- 
part by  an  inch  from  this  just  and  honorable  policy.  Do 
not  let  it  be  supposed  that  the  slaughter  of  kine  for  the 
purpose  of  sacrifice,  or  for  food,  will  ever  be  put  a  stop 
to :  we  shall  protect  the  religions  of  both  sides  alike,  and 
we  shall  punish  according  to  the  law  any  act  which  wan- 
tonly outrages  the  religious  feelings  of  any  section  of  the 


,    u,i>:grr- 


*J0^ 


A  fakik,  bknarks 


376  THE  FAKIR  AS  A  FACTOR 

community.  Let  it  also  be  clearly  understood  that  we 
shall  not  permit  any  disturbance  of  the  peace,  and  that 
wherever  violence  is  exhibited  we  shall  not  be  afraid  to 
put  it  down  by  force." 

The  accounts  of  affairs  in  India,  published  by  the  Con- 
tinental journals,  and  particular!}^  those  in  which  secta- 
rian riots  or  other  local  disturbances  are  referred  to,*  are 
seldom  trustworthy,  since  the  prevailing  jealousy  of  Eng- 
land, and  the  fact  that  she  has  so  far  succeeded  in  main- 
taining a  stable  government  for  the  heterogeneous  mill- 
ions of  India,  which  in  itself  is  a  grievance,  leads  them 
at  times  to  misrepresent  facts,  and  often  to  exaggerate 
local  disturbances  of  comparatively  little  importance. 
"When  the  enormous  aggregate  of  the  population  is  con- 
sidered, it  is  easy  to  understand  that  far  greater  causes 
would  be  necessary  in  order  to  pervade  all  classes  with 
discontent,  to  interfere  with  the  regular  working  of  the 
judicial  machinerj^  and  to  imperil  the  peace  of  the  whole 
empire. 

IV 
A  figure  which  adds  much  to  the  joyous  aspect  of  life 
in  India,  and,  like  the  hump- backed  cow,  the  crow,  and 
the  vulture,  is  part  of  its  strictly  local  color,  is  the  itiner- 
ant fakir.  The  fact  that  he  seems  to  take  himself  very 
seriously  does  not  prevent  him  at  times  from  being  inde- 
scribably grotesque.  Of  all  the  children  of  Aryan  stock 
he  is  the  most  conservative,  unchano-ed  and  unchanmnii: ; 
and  even  in  India,  where  in  these  days  one  is  seldom  out 
of  hearing  of  the  locomotive  whistle,  he  is  an  anachro- 


*  It  is  slirewdl}'  imagined  by  govcrninent  that  the  anti-cow-killing 
society  is  only  a  cloak  for  a  lot  of  disaffected  Hindoos  to  work  under. 
— Note  by  a  member  of  the  jury  durinrj  the  trial  of  the  rioters. 


EQUALITY  377 

nism,  Buddha,  after  the  great  renunciation,  was  the  first 
to  wear  the  yellow  of  whom  we  have  any  authentic  tra- 
dition, and  whenever  the  fakir  appears  in  history,  no  mat- 
ter at  what  date,  he  is  always  exactly  the  same  figure 
that  Ave  meet  to-day,  plodding  along  the  road  on  his  way 
to  a  shrine.  The  fakir  who  conversed  with  the  Emperor 
Jehanghir,*  treating  him  as  an  equal,  to  the  great  scan- 
dal of  the  English  ambassador,  wore  a  crown  of  pea- 
cock's feathers,  like  one  who  used  to  hang  about  the 
palace  of  the  Seths  in  Ajmere.  The  famous  interview 
between  the  Emperor  and  the  fakir  is  depicted  in  an- 
cient Hindoo  miniature,  where  they  are  both  seated  fac- 
ing each  other,  on  the  roof  of  a  little  pavilion  rising  from 
the  water ;  a  boat  is  fastened  at  the  door  below. 

*  "  I  found  him  sitting  on  his  throne,  and  a  Beggar  at  his  feet,  a  poore 
silly  old  man,  all  asht,  ragd,  and  patcht,  with  a  young  roague  attending 
on  him.  With  these  kind  of  professed  poore  lioly  men,  the  couutrey 
abounds,  and  are  held  in  great  reverence,  but  for  workes  of  chastisement 
of  their  bodies  and  voluntary  sufferings,  they  exceed  the  brags  of  all  here- 
tiques  or  Idolaters.  This  miserable  wretch,  cloathed  in  rags,  crowned 
with  feathers,  covered  with  ashes,  his  Majestie  talked  with  about  an 
hour,  with  such  familiaritie,  and  shew  of  kindnesse,  that  it  must  needs 
argue  an  humilitie  not  found  easily  among  kings.  The  Beggar  sate, 
which  his  sonne  dares  not  doe;  he  gave  the  King  a  Present,  a  Cake, 
asht,  burnt  on  the  Coales,  made  by  himselfe  of  coarse  graine,  which  the 
King  accepted  most  willinglj-,  and  brake  one  bit  and  eate  it,  which  a 
daintie  mouth  could  scarce  have  done.  After  he  tooke  the  clout,  and 
wrapt  it  up,  and  put  in  the  poore  mans  bosome,  and  sent  for  one  hun- 
dred Rupias,  and  with  his  owne  hands  powred  them  into  the  poore  mans 
lap,  and  what  fell  besides  gathered  up  for  him:  when  his  collation  of 
banqueeting  and  drinke  came,  wiiatsoever  he  tooke  to  catc,  he  brake  and 
gave  the  Begger  halfe,  and  after  many  strange  humiliations,  and  char- 
itirising,  the  old  AV retch  not  being  nimble,  he  tooke  him  up  in  his  arnies, 
which  no  cleanly  body  durst  have  touched,  imbracing  him.  and  three 
times  laying  his  hand  on  his  heart  calling  him  father,  he  left  him,  and  all 
us  and  me  in  admiration  of  such  a  vertue  in  a  heathen  Prince."  — 
Sir  Thomas  Roe. 


378 


HIRSUTE  APPENDAGES 


YOUNG    NAUTCH    GIRL 


His  usual  and  unique  gar- 
ment is  a  long  strip  of  flimsy 
cotton  of  a  faded  orange  hue, 
which  is  wound  about  him, 
leaving  his  legs  and  arms 
bare,  and  they,  as  well  as  his 
face,  are  gray  with  dust 
and  ashes.  Long  strings  of 
beads  and  rosaries,  amulets, 
charms, feathers,  brass  chains 
and  gewgaws  give  him  the 
appearance  of  an  ambulating 
junk-shop.  Stripes  of  white 
paint  diversify  his  solemn 
countenance,  and  he  is  often  burdened  with  a  heavy  vol- 
ume of  Holy  Writ,  which  is  sometimes  in  very  good  con- 
dition with  a  new  and  "  puckah  "  binding.  A  thick  and 
shaggy  shock  of  hair  is  part  of  the  fakir's  stock  in  trade, 
and  when  he  has  not  enough  to  start  business  with,  he 
ingeniously  pieces  it  out  witli  some  brown  substance  hav- 
ing the  nature  or  appearance  of  a  "jute  switch."  It  is 
usually  gathered  up  on  the  nape  of  the  neck  after  the 
present  mode  among  European  ladies,  and  it  is  then 
twisted  into  a  series  of  knots  on  the  top  of  the  head. 
Lengthened  out  artificially,  it  is  frequently  wound  about 
the  fakir's  head  like  a  turban,  tinted  with  henna,  and  its 
bulk  is  further  augmented  with  strings  of  wooden  beads, 
cowries,  brass  chains,  or  whatever  he  happens  to  have  on 
hand.  A  few  wear  their  hair  closely  cropped,  and  when 
it  descends  to  the  shoulders  only  it  is  anointed  with  oil  or 
grease,  and  then  powdered  with  dust,  in  order  to  give  it 
that  peculiar  matted  appearance  so  highly  prized.  There 
are  others  of  exalted  pretensions  who  cover  their  heads 
with  a  tall  -  pointed  cap  or  helmet  of  some  sort,  hung 


A  MERE  SKETCH  'Si 9 

around  with  bells  and  other  metallic  articles  which  jin- 
gle, and  now  and  then  we  meet  one  wearing,  like  Jehan- 
gir's  friend,  a  tall  nodding  crown  of  peacock  feathers, 
which  is  remarkably  effective  in  frightening  horses. 

But  the  fakir,  sitting  alone  by  the  roadside,  in  the  sol- 
emn twilight,  ceases  to  be  merely  grotesque ;  hardly  dis- 
tinguishable from  the  dust  but  for  the  faded  color  of  his 
drapery,  motionless,  and  seeming  to  gaze  fixedly  at  some- 
thing invisible  to  profane  eyes,  he  is  a  startling  and  un- 
earthly figure,  and  any  right-minded  horse  would  refuse 
to  pass  him  in  the  dusk.  The  fakir  is  always  a  seductive 
object  to  paint,  for  what  could  be  more  discreetly  decora- 
tive than  his  scheme  of  color,  the  quiet  opposition  of  his 
blue-gray  skin  like  an  elephant's  hide,  and  the  washed-out 
orange  of  his  garment;  but  however  lovingly  he  may  be 
studied  he  will  always  look  like  an  unfinished  sketch, 
slightly  "  out "  in  its  values,  or,  to  be  more  precise,  like  a 
sculptor's  "  maquette  "  of  clay,  and  will  never  be  likely  to 
find  much  favor  as  a  subject  in  the  world  of  commercial 
art.  It  is  not  an  easy  matter  to  show  on  canvas  that  the 
reason  why  his  face  has  no  modelling,  scarcely  any  re- 
flected lights,  is  because  of  the  opaque  coating  of  clay, 
to  which  cause  is  also  due  the  remarkable  texture  of  his 
dyed  hair,  and  that  the  reason  why  he  appears,  at  first 
sight,  to  wear  tan-colored  kid  gloves,  is  because  the  gray 
dust  has  been  washed  off  in  some  sacred  tank. 

Fakirs  almost  invariably  pose  well,  and  are  singularly 
docile  and  accommodating  as  models,  the  inexhaustible- 
stock  of  patience  required  in  their  vocation  making  it 
easy  for  them  to  keep  the  same  position.  Every  one 
knows  the  oft-told  tale  of  the  saint  who  sat  for  sixteen 
years  with  one  arm  upraised  until  it  stiffened  in  that  po- 
sition like  the  dead  limb  of  a  tree,  and  the  nails  grew  into 
the  palm  of  his  hand  ;  and  of  the  other  who  ])laced  a  ])inch 


380  A  ROADSIDE  ORNAMENT 

of  earth  on  the  end  of  his  outstretched  tongue,  planted  a 
seed  therein,  and  sat  until  the  seed  sprouted  and  the 
leaves  appeared.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  their  vows  for- 
bid them  to  touch  the  coin  of  the  realm,  they  are  not 
averse  to  receiving  it  in  the  gourds  or  little  buckets 
which  they  usually  carry.  One  who  belonged  to  a  sect 
distinguished  above  all  others  for  saintliness  was  draped 
and  turbaned  with  yellow  and  carried  a  slender  wand 
which  he  never  laid  down.  Having  consented  to  pose,  he 
took  up  a  position  in  the  sunlight,  and  was  carefully  in- 
structed not  to  move.  While  he  sat,  his  lips  moved  in- 
cessantly, and  he  never  ceased  to  repeat  prayers  or 
charms ;  but  one  of  his  hands,  having  got  out  of  position 
at  the  critical  moment,  I  rose  to  replace  it.  At  my  ap- 
proach he  shrank  backward  with  an  expression  of  horror, 
but  fortunately  before  I  had  touched  him  it  was  ex- 
plained to  me  that  the  contact  of  an  unsanctified  hand 
w^ould  put  ages  of  penance  betw^een  him  and  the  happy 
goal  which  was  now  so  near. 

An  ascetic,  with  whom  we  had  the  honor  of  a  personal 
interview,  had  invented  an  original  method  of  attaining 
that  elevation  of  spirit,  through  maceration  of  the  flesh, 
which  all  must  compass  before  they  may  hope  for  end- 
less rest.  We  saw  him  on  the  road  from  Ajmere  to  the 
Sacred  Lake  of  Poscha,  dwelling  alone  in  the  wilderness. 
The  fine  road  by  which  we  descended  a  steep  declivity 
among  the  hills  made  an  abrupt  turn  at  the  bottom  of 
the  slope,  and  the  driver  had  to  rein  in  his  horses,  which 
were  rearing  and  plunging  at  the  sudden  apparition  of  a 
small  white  tent  and  a  silent  figure  squatting  at  the  en- 
trance. With  three  broad  white  stripes  chalked  across 
his  forehead,  and  hair  toned  to  the  deep  and  streaky 
bronze  hue  so  prevalent  at  the  Concours  Ilij^pique,  he 
was  like  a  Japanese  monster  carved  from  a  knot  of  wood. 


382  DOING  PENANCE 

Just  inside  the  tent  stood  an  elaborate  iron  bedstead,  and 
there  was  neither  mattress  nor  sheet  to  conceal  the  frame- 
work of  the  structure,  with  transverse  bars  thickly  plant- 
ed with  long  iron  spikes,  on  which,  for  eight  hours  of  the 
twenty-four,  the  fakir  was  accustomed  to  stretch  his  ema- 
ciated body.  At  that  moment  he  was  taking  a  rest,  and 
his  eyes,  the  only  signs  of  life  in  his  wooden  countenance, 
were  fixed  on  us.  The  bedstead  had  been  constructed  in 
A j mere  at  the  expense  of  one  of  his  disciples,  a  wealthy 
Hindoo  merchant.  This  valley  was  the  playground  of 
divers  striped  and  spotted  brutes  of  the  cat  family — to 
such  an  extent  that  iron -barred  refuges  for  goats  and 
goatherds  had  been  built  at  intervals  along  the  road — and 
we  have  often  since  thought,  with  a  certain  uneasiness,  of 
the  lonely  fakir  whose  only  defence  was  his  sanctity,  and 
wondered  whether  he  had  been  rewarded  with  the  mar- 
tyr's crown. 

When  the  hot  wind  of  April  was  at  its  height  in  Be- 
nares, a  few  weeks  later,  and  the  mercury  daily  stood  at 
100°  or  110°  Fahr.  with  an  upward  tendency,  while  it 
marked  159°  in  the  sun  (according  to  the  Pioneer),  we 
could  not  but  admire  the  fortitude  of  another  devotee 
whom  vre  daily  saw  at  the  boat-landing  on  the  Ganges. 
His  idea  of  self-abasement  was  imaginative  and  Dan- 
tesque.  From  a  sort  of  gallows  on  the  bank  of  the  river, 
in  a  spot  at  once  exposed  to  the  full  power  of  the  sun, 
the  reflected  heat  from  the  calcined  bank,  and  the  burn- 
ing wind  which  swept  the  dust  and  parched  leaves  into 
whirling  eddies,  he  hung  suspended  by  his  heels,  with  his 
face  covered  by  a  figured  prayer-cloth.  With  each  oscil- 
lation of  the  dangling  figure,  as  it  slowly  swayed  to  and 
fro,  its  head  passed  within  a  foot  of  a  hot  fire,  made  of 
the  pungent  flap-jacks  with  which  the  Hindoo  cooks  his 
rice.     Another,  whose  aspect  denoted  the  highest  degree 


SAINTLY   MEDITATION  383 

of  self-immolation,  galloped  down  the  road  mounted  on  a 
frightened  cow,  past  the  verandas  of  Clark's  Hotel.  A 
shred  of  yellow  cloth  concealed  but  little  of  his  dusty 
anatomy,  wasted  by  vigils  and  long  fasting,  and  he  waved 
a  tattered  umbrella  as  he  tore  past,  yelling  at  the  top  of 
his  voice.  For  the  daring  simplicity  and  originality  of 
his  ^'make-up"  he  deserved  the  academic  palms  of  his 
order. 

Benares  is  the  principal  gathering-place  of  this  motley 
tribe  of  zealots  and  ascetics,  and  here  they  troop  during 
the  spring  festivals  from  all  quarters  of  India.  Many 
are  the  strange  varieties  and  idiosyncrasies  of  costume  or 
manner  which  prove  that  charlatanism,  whether  religious, 
social,  or  aesthetic,  is  not  monopolized  by  Western  races 
alone.  Along  the  roads  leading  to  the  Ploly  City  they 
march  in  groups,  singly,  or  in  couples,  incrusted  with 
clay  and  dust,  and  many  of  them  carry  a  primitive  sort 
of  umbrella,  made  of  fan-palm  leaves,  which  seems  to  cause 
them  much  embarrassment  when  not  actually  in  use,  since 
they  cannot  shut  it  up,  and  it  is  always  in  the  way. 

When  one  drifts  down  the  Ganges  in  the  morning, 
along  the  crowded  stone  steps  of  the  "  ghauts,"  rising  in 
graded  terraces  like  the  seats  of  the  Coliseum  to  the  great 
palaces  and  temples  above,  the  boat  passes  close  to  the 
little  platforms  of  plank  built  out  from  the  steps  over  the 
swirling  current ;  and  here,  on  these  platforms,  sheltered 
under  huge  tent -like  umbrellas  of  straw  matting,  sit 
rows  of  "  holy  men  "  and  saintly  Brahmans  in  rapt  med- 
itation and  silent  ecstasy,  occasionally  unbending  for  a 
little  friendly  gossip.  Here  they  glory  in  the  happy  end- 
ing of  their  pilgrimage,  and  enjoy  what  must  be  the 
nearest  approach  to  perfect  beatitude  vouchsafed  to  man, 
for  they  have  arrived  at  their  goal,  and  they  have  no  bag- 
gage to  distract  their  thoughts  from  ])ious  meditation,  no 


'", 

/; 

Ml'       -IB 

y 

^^^^E^^^^^^^^  ll^^^^l 

-    %s»»  _  ,,_ 

1— ., 

'V'^ 

^   -* 

»<mi--- 

^^  -^-        '-   "iij 

MlM*-                            •.■"iAfe.y. 

KKAST    OF    (iAXESIIA,  BKXARES 


KISMET  385 

huge  overland  trunks  nor  bundles  of  wraps  to  worry 
them,  no  hotel  bills  to  pay,  no  care  for  the  morrow,  for 
what  they  shall  eat  or  where  they  shall  sleep,  and  the 
more  ragged  and  unkempt  they  are,  the  more  shall  they 
find  admiring  disciples  and  worshippers  among  the  fair, 
who  shall  pay  a  worthy  tribute  of  "  pice "  for  their  wis- 
dom. The  brave  apostles  of  other  creeds  may  well  feel 
disheartened  at  the  utter  hopelessness  of  making  prose- 
lytes among  them,  for  what  greater  bliss  could  they  offer 
in  exchange  for  this?  If  it  be  so  ordained  that  they  are 
to  die  on  these  steps,  among  hurrying  feet,  in  the  full 
glare  of  the  sun  and  exposed  to  the  burning  wind,  they 
shall  pass  away  in  perfect  content,  sure  that  their  souls 
will  attain  the  long-coveted  rest  without  first  undergoing 
probation  in  any  inferior  form  of  animal  life.  "  Die  at 
Benares,  or  die  on  hereditary  land,"  is  a  saying  held  in 
repute  among  orthodox  Hindoos,  for  this  is  their  Mecca. 


Festivals  religious  and  profane,  some  of  which  might 
be  qualified  by  both  adjectives,  fairs,  pilgrimages,  and  re- 
ligious gatherings  follow  each  other  in  endless  succession. 
Always  rich  in  pictorial  interest  and  incident,  they  are 
nowhere  seen  to  better  advantage  than  at  Benares,  and 
in  the  spring-time,  when  the  religious  exaltation  of  Holy 
"Week  and  the  seductions  of  the  Carnival  are  happily 
blended,  when  the  pious  Rajah  comes  to  spend  a  week  or 
two  in  his  palace  looking  down  on  the  sacred  stream, 
when  he  is  carried  in  a  gilded  palanquin  to  the  sound  of 
music,  and  placed  in  a  peacock-hued  barge  under  awnings 
of  gold  brocade — for  this  period  of  purification  is  often 
followed  by  a  pilgrimage  in  alien  and  Philistine  garb  to 
Vichy  or  other  distant   shrines   held   in  repute  among 

25 


386  A  f£TE  day 

Hindoo  princes.  This  season  of  spring-time  at  Benares  has 
nothing  in  common  with  that  of  other  cUmes,  and  it 
might  rather  be  hkened  to  the  end  of  the  year,  for  the 
last  green  leaf  is  scorched  and  shrivelled  by  a  wind  like 
the  breath  of  a  blast-furnace.  On  the  occasion  of  the 
"  Holi,"  when  white  -  robed  crowds  sprinkle  each  other 
and  everything  else — their  doorways,  their  sacred  cattle, 
and  the  very  ground — with  magenta- colored  powder,  and 
when,  in  the  red  after-glow,  torches  and  lanterns  are 
just  lighted,  all  reflected  in  the  broad  reaches  of  the 
Ganges,  and  with  the  high  palace  walls  and  temple  spires 
rising  above,  the  scene  becomes  the  wildest,  most  crimson- 
tinted  saturnalia  imaginable,  phantasmagoric  and  unreal. 
At  this  season  also  the  festival  of  Ganesha  takes  place, 
lasting  for  several  days,  when  it  is  almost  impossible  for 
love  or  money  to  hire  a  boat,  for  everything  that  floats 
is  engaged  to  take  part  in  the  procession  of  boats,  and 
each  one,  newly  swept  and  garnished,  the  hurricane  deck 
provided  with  an  awning,  carpeted,  furnished  with  chairs, 
tables,  and  even  the  household  god  in  an  illuminated 
shrine,  is  engaged  for  the  duration  of  the  fete  by  some 
wealthy  Hindoo  and  filled  with  his  friends.  Even  our 
own  boatman,  whom  we  had  hired  by  the  week,  stipulated 
to  be  let  off  at  this  season,  as  there  was  always  a  chance 
of  making  a  fabulous  sum  out  of  some  native  capitalist 
arriving  at  the  last  moment.  It  was  our  good-fortune  to 
see  a  Nautch  dance  under  the  most  favorable  conditions, 
given  by  the  Maharajah  of  Benares  for  the  benefit  of 
some  friends,  who  had  stayed  on,  in  spite  of  the  heat,  for 
this  occasion.  We  were  driven  down  to  the  landing- 
place  in  the  cool  of  the  evening,  for  the  mercur}''  had 
fallen  gradually  with  the  cessation  of  the  wind  to  some- 
where in  the  nineties.  Here  on  the  steps  the  secretary 
of  the  prince  was  waiting,  accompanied  by  his  two  sleepy 


SALTCH  DANCKK 


388  A    KIVER  PAGEANT 

little  bo3^s,  some  men  with  torches,  and  a  bearer  with  a 
silver  staff,  who  made  way  for  us  through  the  closely 
packed  throng ;  the  boat  resembled  a  small  river  steamer, 
with  an  upper  deck  sufficiently  furnished,  lighted  by 
lanterns,  and  propelled  by  two  paddle-wheels,  which  from 
motives  of  economy  were  turned  by  coolies  with  hand- 
spikes instead  of  by  steam-power.  Up  the  stream  the 
whole  length  of  the  city  front  we  moved  slowly  among 
the  swarm  of  illuminated  boats,  an  integral  part  of  the 
long  defile,  and  yet  not  of  it.  By  the  light  which  shone 
from  the  tiers  of  palace  windows,  from  the  doors  of  tem- 
ples and  shrines,  from  the  flashing  of  fireworks  and  the 
gleam  of  hurrying  torches  along  the  steps,  it  was  evident 
that  all  Benares,  with  the  exception  of  the  favored  few  in 
the  boats,  had  poured  out  upon  the  ghauts.  From  the 
nearest  boats  floated  strange  music  and  the  voices  of  the 
Nautch  girls;  most  of  these  boats  are  constructed  some- 
thing after  the  fashion  of  a  Nile  boat,  but  without 
masts  and  sails :  the  greater  part  of  the  hull  is  taken  up 
by  the  cabin,  with  a  row  of  windows  on  each  side,  provid- 
ed with  wooden  blinds,  and  the  roof  of  this  cabin  serves 
as  a  promenade  deck,  shaded  by  an  awning.  These  up- 
per decks  were  brilliantly  hung  with  lanterns,  crowded 
with  revellers,  musicians,  and  dancers.  From  a  passing 
boat  with  closely  shuttered  windows,  through  which  the 
light  streamed  out,  came  the  concert  of  sound  which  usu- 
ally accompanies  tlie  last  stages  of  revelry  ;  the  boat  was 
manned  by  a  party  of  the  Rajah's  retainers,  and  in  re- 
sponse to  a  hail  from  the  secretary  some  bottles  of  cham- 
pagne, cakes,  and  ices  were  passed  out  from  the  closed 
cabin.  The  curiosity  of  the  ladies  as  to  what  was  going 
on  inside  of  the  cabin  elicited  only  a  polite  but  evasive 
response  from  the  secretary. 

The  heated,  lifeless  air  of  the  night,  and  the  strange 


AN   ORIENTAL   BALLET  389 

odors  wafted  from  the  steaming  water,  the  monotonous 
throbbing  of  the  paddles,  and  the  flickering  of  myriad 
lights  on  the  crowded  shore,  all  tended  to  produce  a 
hypnotic,  serai-somnolent  condition  of  mind  and  body, 
and  we  should  have  been  well  content  to  drift  on  thus 
forever — but  a  turn  of  the  river  brought  in  sight  the 
gleaming  pavilion  of  canvas  built  out  on  floating  barges, 
where  the  spectacle  was  to  take  place.  The  tent  was 
already  densely  packed  with  Hindoo  spectators,  a  line  of 
statuesque  torch-bearers  stood  around  a  long  carpet,  and 
at  the  end  of  the  carpet  lay  a  pile  of  cushions  under  a 
canopy,  all  of  gold- worked  crimson  velvet.  This  was  the 
Rajah's  place ;  but  as  he  had  sent  word  that  he  could  not 
be  present,  the  music  struck  up  when  our  party  had 
seated  themselves  in  a  row  of  chairs  on  a  raised  platform 
at  the  right.  Then  the  dancing  began — dances  by  sev- 
eral bayaderes,  and  single  dances  accompanied  with  song 
or  recitative,  ending  with  a  performance  by  the  court  ac- 
tors. After  a  preliminary  ballet,  in  which  two  or  three 
took  part,  a  dainty  little  personage  came  forward ;  grace- 
ful, gazelle-eyed,  enveloped  in  a  filmy  cloud  of  black-and- 
gold  gauze,  which  floated  airily  about  her,  she  was  the 
living  incarnation  of  the  Nautch  as  interpreted  by  the 
sculptors  of  Chitor;  from  the  air  of  laughing  assurance 
with  which  she  surveyed  her  assembled  subjects,  it  was 
evident  that  she  was  accustomed  to  homage  and  sure  of 
conquest.  She  held  her  audience  absorbed  and  expect- 
ant by  the  monotonous  and  plaintive  cadence  of  her  song, 
by  long  glances  full  of  intense  meaning  from  half-closed 
eyes,  and  by  swift  changes  of  expression  and  mood,  as 
well  as  by  the  spell  of  "  woven  paces  and  of  waving  arms." 
This  paragon  of  Nautch  girls,  like  most  of  her  sisterhood, 
wore  nose  jewels,  but  to  our  eyes  they  did  not  detract  from 
her  beauty,  nor  did  they  appear  more  unchristian  than  the 


390  A  NAUTCH  AND  ITS  ACCESSORIES 

bulky  pendants  which  women  in  other  countries  suspend 
from  the  cartilages  of  their  ears ;  the  diminutive  cluster 
of  pearls  or  brilliants  seemed  rather  to  play  the  part  of 
the  black  patch  on  the  powdered  face.  As  we  were  after- 
wards to  learn,  one  may  see  many  a  Nautch  without  re- 
taining such  a  vivid  impression ;  much  of  its  force  was 
owing,  no  doubt,  to  the  fitness  of  the  place  and  the  charm 
of  strange  accessories,  the  uncertain  glare  of  the  smoking 
torches,  the  mingling  of  musky  odors  with  the  overpower- 
ing scent  of  attar  of  roses,  and  of  wilting  jasmine  flowers ; 
these  perfumes  were  intensified  in  the  close  air  of  the 
tent  by  the  heat  of  tlie  night — the  prelude  to  the  fiercer 
heat  which  comes  with  the  morning  and  the  rising  of  the 
hot  wind. 


RECENT  IMPRESSIONS  OF  ANGLO-INDIAN  LIFE 

I 
Bearing  in  mind  the  time-honored  predilection  in  favor 
of  first  impressions,  and  knowing  by  experience  how 
rarely  it  happens  that  subsequent  visits  to  a  spot  which 
one  has  left  with  regret  do  not  dispel  some  illusions,  it 
was  not  without  doubt  and  misgiving  that  the  writer  ap- 
proached Bombay  for  the  third  time,  on  this  occasion  by 
rail.  After  mentally  fortifying  one's  self  against  possi- 
ble disappointment,  it  is  always  an  added,  often  a  half- 
unexpected  pleasure,  to  find  that  the  charm  still  remains. 
In  this  instance,  if  the  charm  should  be  analj'zed,  it  might 
be  found  to  lie  partly  in  the  strange  and  exotic  character 
of  the  surroundings.  Having  determined  then  before- 
hand to  take  every  precaution  that  the  first  impression 
might  be  renewed  as  far  as  possible,  and  knowing  that 
one's  environment  at  the  hotel  has  much  to  do  with  it, 
we  did  not  take  the  advice  of  well-meaning  friends  who 
pointed  out  the  superior  advantages  in  the  Avay  of  com- 
forts of  the  hotels  in  the  "  Fort,"  but  w^ent  straight  to  a 
more  suburban  quarter  in  the  vicinity  of  Malabar  Hill. 
The  chosen  hostelry  was  the  type  of  the  old-time  colonial 
hotel,  a  three-storied  barrack,  surrounded  by  tiers  of  trel- 
lised  wooden  galleries.  One  entrance  was  through  a  tri- 
angular garden -patch,  overarched  by  rustling  ban:ina 
leaves,  and  by  a  pathway  littered  with  their  brown,  filmy 
skins.     The  lower  floor  of  the  hotel  was  a  vast  a{)art- 


^xycz 


THE    FORT,  BOMBAY,  FROM    MALABAR   HILL 


ment,  with 
pillars  sup- 
porting the 
story  above. 
A  large  part  of  this 
space  was  occupied 
by  the  dining-tables, 
one  or  two  private  dining-rooms,  and  a  species  of  hotel 
parlor  at  one  end,  furnished  with  the  dusty  black-wood 
furniture  peculiar  to  Bombay  and  a  few  bound  volumes 
of  Illustrated  London  News.  These  little  rooms,  occurring 
at  intervals,  were  fenced  in  by  board  partitions  reaching 
half-way  up  to  the  ceiling.  Our  quarters  on  the  third 
floor  opened,  like  all  the  others,  on  the  wooden  gallery 
surrounding  the  building,  where  the  lodgers  were  acccus- 
tomed  to  keep  their  lounging-chairs,  designed  for  the  en- 
couragement of  laziness  and  the  convenient  consumption 
of  "  pegs  "  and  cheroots.  Some  of  these  chairs  were  of  the 
familiar  bamboo  kind,  and  others,  which  are  seldom  seen 
out  of  India,  being  too  heavy  to  do  duty  as  deck-chairs, 
had  massive  wooden  frames,  and  a  long  rail  on  each  side, 
across  which  the  patient  may  hang  his  inert  legs.  There 
was  a  view  from  this  elevation  of  a  back-yard,  and  of 


UNWELCOME  GUESTS  393 

more  or  less  dilapidated  out-buildings,  where  a  great  deal 
of  slipshod  half-caste  house-keeping  was  going  on,  in  the 
shadow  of  the  unfamiliar  trees  of  the  country  ;  beyond 
this,  the  distant  church  spires  and  buildings  of  the  city, 
tall  factory  chimneys,  innumerable  waving  cocoanut  tops, 
a  hill  capped  with  straight-stemmed  fan-palms,  all  dim 
of  outline  and  undecided  in  the  smoke  and  yellow  haze; 
at  whatever  time  of  day  one  looked  forth  in  this  hot 
October  weather  it  was  always  an  afternoon  sky  that 
one  saw.  In  the  freshness  of  the  early  morning,  before 
sunrise,  when  it  was  our  custom  to  enjoy  the  chota  hazri, 
or  "  little  breakfast,"  which  was  placed  on  a  table  out- 
side the  door,  there  was  still  the  same  vaporous  horizon 
with  just  a  faint  flush  of  rose ;  but  one  might  know  that 
it  w^as  morning  from  the  clamorous  activity  of  the  crows, 
kites,  and  broad- winged  buzzards  which  wheeled  past, 
keeping  watchful  eyes  on  our  breakfast-table.  The  writer 
cannot  but  regret  the  time  squandered  in  fishing  for 
crows,  with  indifferent  success,  b}^  means  of  something 
edible  attached  to  the  end  of  a  hanging  string;  but  th& 
temptation  was  sometimes  irresistible,  for  while  we  sat 
at  the  table  one  or  more  of  them,  perched  on  the  rickety- 
shutters,  or  swinging  on  a  neighboring  tree-top,  watched 
us  with  glittering  eyes  and  heads  pertly  cocked,  and  if  we^ 
stepped  into  the  room  for  a  moment,  there  was  a  sudden 
swoop,  a  rustle  of  sable  wings,  and  the  swift  flight  of  the 
glossy  pirate  with  a  dripping  egg  or  banana,  closely  })ur- 
sued  by  his  less  daring  brethren.  It  is  not  of  much  use 
to  play  tricks  on  the  Indian  crows,  and  the  earlier  one 
accepts  (temporarily  at  least)  the  prevalent  belief  that 
they  contain  the  souls  of  those  who  were  up  to  sharp 
practice  during  their  human  incarnation,  the  easier  it 
becomes  to  understand  their  ways.  "Witness  the  case  of 
the  young  torpedo  engineer  who,  being  plagued  by  them 


394 


A  LIMITED   MENU 


beyond  endurance,  carefully  concocted  a  torpedo  in  a 
flower-pot  seductively  baited,  to  which  he  attached  the 
wires  of  an  electric  battery.  Keedless  to  say  that  he 
was  hoist  with  his  own  petard,  while  the  "sandhedrin 
of  gray-headed  crows  "  gravely  chuckled  from  the  neigh- 
boring tree-tops.  The  writer  once  offered  a  liberal  reward 
to  the  house-servants  at  the  hotel  to  induce  them  to  catch 
one  alive  for  artistic  purposes,  but  no  crow  was  forth- 
coming'. 


CHOTA    HAZRI 


This  early  breakfast  in  the  open  air  had  a  savor  which 
the  more  elaborate  functions  at  the  table  d'hote  did  not 
possess.  It  is  true  that  the  menu  was  limited  and  un- 
varying, confined  to  tea,  toast,  and  eggs,  with  whatever 
fruit  happened  to  be  in  season;  that  the  salt  was  of 
doubtful  whiteness,  and  the  pepper-box  an  ex-receptacle 
for  Keating's  insect  powder;  but  none  of  these  things  had 
power  to  detract  from  the  enjoyment  of  the  situation. 


TROPICAL  FRUIT  395 

This  rickety  balcony  overlooking  the  swaying,  lustrous 
cocoanut  fronds  had  attractions  unequalled  by  the  most 
inviting  of  the  damask  -  lined  retreats  sacred  to  g(x>d 
cheer  which  look  down  on  the  tumult  of  the  boulevards; 
and  the  mere  fact  that  one  was  obliged  to  be  always  on 
guard  against  the  sudden  raids  of  the  feathered  bucca- 
neers added  an  additional  zest  to  the  "  little  breakfast." 
When  mangoes  were  ripe,  and  were  served  to  us  delect- 
ably  iced  and  wrapped  in  a  napkin,  one  could  only  look 
forward  to  the  sailing  of  the  steamer  with  sincere  regret. 
A  brief  gastronomic  flirtation  with  another  fruit  did  not 
leave  as  pleasant  an  after-taste  as  the  brief  acquaintance 
with  the  sumptuous  mango,  for  this  much  lauded  and 
abused  delicacy,  commended  as  much  by  its  admirers  as 
it  is  execrated  by  its  foes,  is  of  gigantic  size,  and  endowed 
with  a  correspondingly  aggressive  odor,  so  tliat  one  can- 
not indulge  in  it  surreptitiously,  but  must  take  the  whole 
neighborhood  into  his  confidence.  In  the  early  afternoon 
before  the  landward  breeze  began  to  stir  among  the  tree- 
tops  one  desired  nothing  better  than  to  lie  at  full  length 
in  the  long  chair,  with  an  iced  peg  and  a  cigarette, 
watching  for  the  first  streak  of  wind-ruffled  blue  sea  to 
appear  on  the  horizon ;  and  if  for  a  moment  one  went 
inside,  to  dive  into  a  trunk  and  lift  out  trays,  the  at- 
mosphere felt  like  the  sudorium  of  a  Roman  bath,  and 
an  entire  change  of  raiment  became  expedient,  and  yet 
the  soft  breeze,  as  it  gained  in  strength,  lifted  one's  papers 
off  the  table  and  scattered  them  over  the  room.  This 
apartment,  arranged  to  open  on  a  veranda  at  each  end, 
so  that  the  Avind  might  draw  through  the  open  work  of 
the  partition  Avhich  divided  the  sitting-room  from  the 
bedroom,  and  witii  blinds  at  each  end,  which  could  l)e  so 
slanted  as  to  leave  full  play  to  the  lightest  breeze,  had 
its  drawbacks,  for  the  bath-room  was  somewhat  dark  and 


396  BEAUTIFUL  ENVIRONS 

gruesome,  and  it  took  time  to  become  accustomed  to  the 
formidable  size  of  the  cockroaches,  two  of  whicli  had 
their  lair  under  the  washbowl  in  a  recess  of  the  Avood, 
w^hence  their  exaggerated  antenna?  protruded,  while  the 
owners  clung,  back  downwards,  to  the  rim. 

In  these  early  October  days  one  was  only  cool  while 
fanned  by  the  punkah  at  dinner-time,  or  under  its 
rhythmic  sway  at  night,  or  while  driving  in  the  breeze 
along  the  Back  Bay,  far  more  decorative  in  its  southern 
fashion  than  the  Rotten  Row  or  the  Bois,  and  which  adds 
so  much  to  the  attractions  of  Bombay.  At  the  table 
d'hote,  notwithstanding  the  punkahs,  one  was  always 
conscious  of  a  beaded  brow  while  slowly  absorbing  iced 
fluids ;  as  in  other  hotels  of  the  same  period,  the  crockery 
had  evidently  been  in  use  since  the  days  of  Warren 
Hastings,  and  must  have  done  faithful  service  for  many 
different  social  castes,  for  some  pieces  might  have  graced 
the  table  of  a  former  governor -general,  while  the  ma- 
jority, notched,  chipped,  and  discolored,  represented  more 
democratic  levels ;  and  the  knives  were,  one  and  all,  thin 
and  pointed  with  long  usage  and  daily  scouring  in  the 
sand  by  native  servants.  The  manager  was  an  anaemic 
Irishman,  whose  dail}"  routine  included  the  absorption 
of  an  unlimited  number  of  pegs,  varied  by  an  occasion- 
al drive  to  the  "  Fort "  in  an  antiquated  two  -  wheeled 
buggy,  by  the  way  of  exercise.  On  the  morning  after 
our  arrival  I  came  down  at  6.30  with  a  color -box,  in- 
tending to  begin  a  sketch  among  the  carved  and  painted 
houses  of  the  quarter,  and  found  him  sitting  outside  at 
a  little  table,  on  which  stood  a  tall  glass  of  whiskey  and 
potash  water.  His  face  was  red  and  plentifully  perfo- 
rated with  open  pores,  suffused  with  moisture,  but  he 
looked  comparatively  cool,  clad  in  white  drills.  Glanc- 
ing at  my  painting-traps,  and  realizing  with  amazement, 


PUNKAHS  AND  PEGS 


397 


in  which  I  detected  a  shade  of  compassion,  that  I  actually 
intended  to  walk,  he  assured  me  that  such  excessive  ex- 
ertion was  usually  followed  in  this  climate  by  sudden 
death.  In  turn  I  assured  him  of  my  entire  resignation, 
founded  on  a  hopeful  belief  in  the  perfect  beatitude  of 
nirvana,  etc.,  and  he  allowed  me  to  proceed,  having 
washed  his  hands,  as  it  were,  of  all  responsibility.  When 
w^e  started  on  an  indefinite  cruise  through  the  Mofussil 
regions  he  gave  us  much  kindly  advice,  but  said  that 
travelling  by  railway  at  night  exposed  one  to  fevers,  and 
was  extremely  dangerous,  in  which  he  was  partly  right. 
I  think  he  never  expected  to  see 
us  again,  but  when  we  returned 
some  six  months  later,  in  the 
stewing  month  of  April,  Ave 
found  him  in  bed,  emaciated  by 
a  malady  brought  on  by  exces- 
sive consumption  of  pegs  and 
want  of  other  exercise,  but  he 
recovered  sufficiently  to  be 
shipped  northward  on  an  An- 
chor liner.  At  this  hotel  we 
had  our  first  experience  of  the 
bedroom  punkah,  and  it  was  not 
altogether  satisfactory.  In  or- 
der that  the  punkah  frill  might 
sweep  within  a  few  inches  of 
our  faces  the  mosquito  nettings 
were  removed,  as  we  vainly  be- 
lieved, what  we  had  been  told, 
that  mosquitoes  were  unable  to 
perform  their  alimentary  func- 
tions in  a  strong  current  of  air. 
At  first  the  soft  fanning,  the  reg- 


THK    CIIUrRASSl 


398  GREEN  AND  GOLD 

ular  dip,  and  the  long  wave  of  cool  air  which  passed  over 
us  were  delightfully  soporific,  but  we  had  not  calculated  on 
the  punkah-wallah  habit  of  dropping  oflf  to  sleep ;  and  al- 
though the  cries  and  objurgations  addressed  to  these  drow- 
sy menials  from  neighboring  rooms  failed  to  arouse  us,  we 
were  soon  awakened  by  the  sensation  of  heat,  and  by  the 
feeling  that  we  were  helplessly  in  the  power  of  the  sing- 
ing miscreants.  Our  landlord  had  expressed  astonish- 
ment at  my  demand  for  a  punkah,  since  the  anticipation 
of  coming  "  cool  weather "  had  lowered  his  anaemic  tem- 
perature, and  he  had  slept  under  a  blanket  for  the  two 
previous  nights.  A  notable  feature  of  the  hotel  were 
the  long  corridors  like  dark  tunnels,  the  blaze  of  blind- 
ing yellow  light  at  each  end,  with  green  leaves  fram- 
ing vignettes  of  golden  haze  and  smoke  and  stiff  fan- 
palms,  or  a  distant  blue  line  of  water  dotted  with  white 
lateen-sails,  and  the  pair  of  punkah  coolies  at  each  open 
door,  one  asleep,  with  his  mahogany  shins  stretched  half- 
way across  the  passage,  and  the  other  languidly  pulling 
at  the  cord  which  hangs  from  the  fanlight  over  the  door. 
Glimpses  of  the  interiors  were  not  easily  had,  although 
the  doors  were  all  ajar,  as  tall  screens  of  carved  black 
wood,  panelled  with  turkey  red,  stood  just  beyond  the 
thresholds.  The  company  at  this  hotel  was  cosmopoli- 
tan to  a  degree,  made  up  of  people  representing  the 
different  Anglo-Indian  castes,  and  travellers  who  were 
arriving  or  departing  by  the  weekly  liners.  A  veteran 
colonel,  just  back  from  a  campaign  in  Beloochistan,  con- 
soled us,  when  we  complained  of  the  heat,  unjustly,  per- 
haps, for  the  mercury  never  rose  to  the  height  Avhich 
people  take  as  a  matter  of  course  during  the  progress  of 
a  New  York  summer.  He  said  that  in  Beloochistan  they 
were  accustomed  to  emerge  from  their  tents,  when  an 
interval  between  dust-storms  permitted,  at  -i  a.m.,  and  sit 


400  MORNING  LIGHT 

outside  to  drink  in  the  freshness  of  the  morning,  when  the 
mercury  fell  to  104'^  Fahr.  My  vis-a-vis  at  the  table  was 
an  energetic  young  American,  absorbed  in  the  pursuit  and 
capture  of  wild  animals  for  a  transatlantic  menagerie.  We 
were  taken  by  our  plausible  friend  to  see  a  couple  of 
unhappy  tiger  cubs,  and  were  nearly  induced  to  purchase 
one  of  them,  but,  remembering  in  time  the  restricted  ac- 
commodations of  our  apartment  on  the  Avenue  Wagram, 
and  the  unsympathetic  character  of  the  concierge,  we 
wisely  backed  out  at  the  last  moment.  But  of  the  sev- 
eral hotels  in  Bombay  Avhich  we  occupied  at  intervals, 
the  one  which  I  remember  with  keenest  satisfaction 
stood  at  the  end  of  an  alley  of  slender -stemmed  and 
stately  fan-palms,  and  on  our  right,  as  Ave  approached  it,  a 
sunburnt  hill-side,  from  which  red  rocks  protruded,  rose 
into  a  high  ridge  crowned  with  still  taller  fan-palms. 
Curving  across  and  above  the  gate-posts  was  the  quaintly 
alliterative  name  of  the  Parsee  landlord,  Eustomjee  Rut- 
tonjee ;  but  as  this  hotel  differed  but  shghtly  from  the 
others  in  service  and  cuisine,  its  chief  est  attraction  was 
the  entire  loveliness  of  the  view  from  the  windows. 
When  one  reluctantly  awakens  at  5  a.m.  and  looks  down 
on  the  dull  gray  twilight  of  a  European  city  street, 
usually  saddened  at  that  hour  by  a  leaden  sky,  it  is  not 
always  with  a  feeling  of  joy  that  he  thinks  of  the  com- 
ing day ;  but  here,  in  the  stillness  of  the  early  morning, 
when  the  waning  moon  hung  in  the  mellow  Avestern  sky 
over  the  purple  sea,  dotted  Avith  Avhite  sails,  Avhich  shoAved 
here  and  there  beyond  the  solid  floor  of  matted  tree- 
tops,  so  thickly  interlaced  that  the  dark  ground  was  only 
visible  in  places,  stretching  away  from  under  the  Avin- 
doAvs,  and  hiding  the  Mahaluxmee  Battery  and  the  sea- 
road,  it  seemed  a  Avaste  of  time  and  of  life  to  lie  abed. 
In   the    near  foreground   below  a   round   green   pool. 


SUNSET  EFFECTS  401 

fringed  about  with  drooping  banana  leaves,  reflected  the 
light  of  the  sky,  and  on  the  topmost  branches  of  a  tree 
which  almost  touched  the  windows  sleek  emerald-green 
parrots  sat  and  plumed  themselves.  At  sundown,  a 
strong  sea  breeze  blew  the  cocoanut  tops  about,  and  the\' 
waved  and  tossed  like  sable  plumes,  sharply  cut  against 
the  vapory  red  horizon.  There  is  a  delightful  spot  near 
the  shore,  and  close  to  the  Mahaluxmee  Batter}^  con- 
ducive to  meditation  and  vague  speculation  as  to  what  is 


SUNSET    FROM    MY    WINDOW 


going  on  in  the  far-off  west  beyond  the  sunset — and  here 
the  Parsees,  especially  those  of  the  wealthier  class,  are 
accustomed  to  station  themselves  when  the  red  sun  sinks 
behind  the  purple  rim  of  the  sea,  shot  through  with  iri- 
descent crimson  and  violet  tones.  This  brief  halt  does 
not  have  the  appearance  of  a  religious  function,  although 
most  of  them  gaze  fixedly  at  the  great  luminary  as  it  dis- 
appears, but  all  seem  to  be  enjoying  the  coolness  of  the 
air,  and  relaxing  at  the  same  time  into  a  little  friendly 


402  ORIENTAL  TOUTS 

gossip  with  their  neighbors.  Their  horses  and  coachmen 
look  sleek  and  well-fed,  and,  like  their  masters,  have  a 
comfortable  and  prosperous  air.  But  few  of  the  men, 
and  those  usually  of  the  older  generation,  stick  to  their 
hereditary  costume,  although  many  still  wear  the  shiny 
mitre-like  hat,  and  most  of  them  are  adorned  by  English 
tailors ;  some  of  the  young  men  still  keep  up  the  narrow 
turban  closely  built  around  a  skull  -  cap.  l^early  all  the 
ladies  wear  the  pale,  delicately  tinted  shawls  which  har- 
monize so  well  with  their  melancholy  black  eyes  and  clear 
complexions. 

Of  the  more  correct  and  orthodox  hotels  of  the  "  Fort  '^ 
the  writer  has  nothing  whatever  to  say  in  disparagement, 
and  the  American  or  English  tourist  who  chooses  to  so- 
journ  there  may,  with  but   a    slight   stretch   of  fanc}'",. 
imagine  that  he  is  still  at  Charing  Cross  or  the  Grand 
Midland,  and  enjoying   the   superior   comforts   of  those 
famous  hostelries.     To  the  hotels  in  more  remote  Mofus- 
sil  capitals  the  transition  from  those  referred  to  is  by  no 
means  abrupt,  and  in  spite  of  the  changes  which  are 
being  rapidly  effected,  most  of  them  still  retain  features 
Avhich,  to  say  the  least,  are  unmistakably  local,  and  which 
cause  the  experienced  traveller  to  prefer  the  dak  bunga- 
low where  it  still  exists.    In  one  of  these  northern  centres 
it  was  only  with  great  difficulty  and  by  the  display  of 
persistent  energy  that  we  succeeded  in  reaching  the  dak 
bungalow  at  all,  in  consequence  of  the  aggressive  enter- 
prise of  the  hotel  "touts"  at  the  railway  station,  and 
their  influence  over  both  servants  and  drivers.     The  hotel 
which  was  most  difficult  to  escape  from,  and  which  had 
a  rather  undesirable  reputation,  was  the  Lord  Donney- 
brook.     Its  rules  and  regulations,  printed  with  the  old- 
fashioned,  worn-out  type  which  has  probably  done  unre- 
mitting service  since  the  days  of  Clive,  were  surrounded 


A   GENEROUS  LARDER  403 

by  an  ornamental  border  such  as  one  still  finds  on  bottles 
of  "  Bengal  chutney  "  ;  among  other  items  we  read  that 
"A  single  person  occupying  a  double  beaded  room,  will 
have  to  vocate  it  for  a  single  beaded  one,  if  required  for  a 
married  couple  or  2  persons."  Also  that  "  Visitors  will 
be  good  enough  not  to  strike  the  Hotel  servants,  any 
complaints  made  against  them  will  be  attended  to."  Not- 
withstanding our  directions  to  the  driver,  we  were  taken 
to  this  hotel,  but  fearing  that  we  might  fail  in  complying 
with  its  somewhat  lengthy  schedule  of  rules,  we  persisted 
in  our  original  design  of  going  to  the  bungalow,  and 
probably  missed  one  of  the  choicest  experiences  of  a  life- 
time. We  had  no  reason  to  regret  having  chosen  the 
bungalow.  It  was  a  long,  narrow,  one-storied  structure, 
with  a  veranda  extending  the  whole  length  of  its  front ; 
the  apartments  were  all  exactly  alike,  consisting  of  a  liv^- 
ing-room  or  parlor,  bedroom  and  bath-room,  each  with  a 
door  on  the  other  side  giving  access  to  a  little  private 
piazza.  As  we  arrived  just  before  Christmas,  which  is  the 
great  season  for  Mofussil  travel,  the  place  was  crowded, 
but  the  khansamah  and  his  twin  brother,  grave  and 
portly  Mussulmans,  became  unusually  sympathetic  and  at- 
tentive when  they  realized  that  we  appreciated  their 
efforts.  Never  in  India  did  we  find  such  cookery  at  a 
hotel,  for  there  was  no  table  d'hote,  and  each  guest  was 
served  in  the  privacy  of  his  apartment.  Every  dish  was 
brought  in  hot,  chops  and  steaks  were  placed  on  the  table, 
still  sizzling  on  the  grill,  according  to  the  local  fashion ; 
there  were  juicy  teal  and  partridges,  and  the  curry  was  gen- 
erously spiced.  For  all  this  we  were  only  required  to  ])ay 
the  sum  of  five  rupees  a  day  (for  two  persons  occupying 
the  same  quarters)  in  addition  to  one  rupee  each  for 
room  rent.  The  expectations  of  the  khansamah  and  his 
brother  did  not  end  here, and  they  were  not  disappointed; 


404  INCONVENIENT  RULES 

but  one  day  they  reluctantly  called  our  attention  to  an 
item  in  the  printed  list  of  rules  allowing  each  person 
twenty-four  hours  occupancy  only  in  case  the  room  was 
wanted  by  a  new-comer,  and  at  the  same  time  showed  us 
a  w^ritten  complaint  in  the  bungalow  book,  where  we  had 
been  obliged  to  inscribe  the  date  of  our  arrival,  and  alas  ! 
w^e  were  now  the  oldest  inhabitants,  having  sadly  over- 
stayed our  time.  The  khansamah  insinuated  that  we 
should  make  a  little  trip  which  we  had  projected  to  a 
neighboring  point  of  interest,  and  after  two  or  three  days' 
absence  he  would  send  a  carriage  for  us  and  reserve  our 
rooms.  "  Chota  hazri "  was  usually  laid  on  the  table  in 
the  outer  room  at  an  early  hour,  and  we  were  invariably 
awakened  by  the  chirping  and  twittering  of  the  sparrows, 
which,  far  from  waiting  for  any  invitation  to  help  them- 
selves to  butter  and  jam,  resented  our  appearance  on  the 
scene  with  indignation  and  vehement  scolding.  The  di- 
minished pat  of  butter  which  remained  for  us  was  usually 
pitted  with  the  marks  of  their  beaks.  It  was  quite  im- 
possible to  keep  out  these  impudent  marauders,  but  it  was 
amusing  to  watch  the  manner  of  their  entrance  and  exit. 
The  door  opening  on  the  veranda  was  closed  by  a  trans- 
parent mat  of  cane  or  grass,  which  touched  the  floor,  and 
they  had  an  ingenious  manner  of  crawling  under  it  in 
spite  of  its  weight. 

The  only  incongruous  note  in  the  bungalow  *  was  the 
punkah,  whitewashed  like  the  high,  bare  Avails  of  the 
sleeping-room,  and  tied  up  against  the  ceiling.  It  was 
then  the  height  of  the  short  winter,  following  the  nine 
months  of  furnace  heat,  and  the  sight  of  this  unseason- 
able implement  sent  a  chill  through  one's  marrow. 

*Tliis  famous  bungalow  has  been  suppressed,  the  hotel  -  keepers  of 
tlie  city  having  represented  to  the  local  powers  that  it  ruined  their  busi- 
ness and  was  quite  unnecessary. 


HARD  PUSHED 


405 


-l^ 


It  is  only  of  late 
years  that  travellers 
have  begun  to  invade 
India  in  any  considera- 
ble numbers,  and  con- 
sequently hotel  accom- 
modations are  often 
insufficient,  except  in 
the  show  places  and  in 
the  most  populous  busi- 
ness centres,  so  that  in 
many  cities  of  over  ; 
100,000  inhabitants  the 
public  bungalow  is  the 
only  accommodation  to 
be  found.  This  is  now 
often  supplemented  by 
the  "  waiting-rooms "  ~ 
at  the  railway  station, 
provided  with  restau- 
rant and  two  or  three  bedrooms.  But  during  the  "  cold 
weather,"  the  popular  travelling  season  in  this  country, 
both  bungalow  and  waiting-rooms  are  often  full,  and  the 
traveller  has  difficulty  in  finding  a  place  to  lay  his  head. 
AVe  were  once  obliged  to  throw  ourselves  on  the  mercy 
of  the  station-master,  who  finally  made  us  comfortable  in 
an  unoccupied  saloon-carriage  belonging  to  the  executive 
engineer  of  the  disti'ict. 

For  any  one  who  has  work  to  do,  the  privacy  and  se- 
clusion of  the  diik  bungalow  offers  material  advantages. 
As  each  meal  is  cooked  separately  and  served  in  the  trav- 
eller's apartment,  he  escapes  tiie  stiff  and  fussy  table 
d'hote  at  the  hotel,  an  institution  which  never  seems  to 
be  quite  at  home  in  India. 


\i;«=E-. 


THE    KHANSAMAH 


406  NO  PRIVACY 

But  the  cookery  is  usually  rather  heavy,  as  the  khan- 
samah's  favorite  utensil  is  the  frying-pan,  and  one  need 
not  expect  to  find  superfluous  luxurj'-  in  the  way  of  furni- 
ture. The  rooms  being  unprovided  Avith  windows  for  the 
most  part,  and  as  the  little  light  which  there  is  enters 
through  the  curtained  half-glass  doors,  they  are  dark  and 
chilly  in  the  winter-time,  and  have  a  ghostly  and  uncanny 
feeling  about  them,  even  by  daylight,  so  that  the  occupant 
often  prefers  to  take  his  meals  on  the  sunny  veranda 
during  the  daytime.  There  are  seldom  any  fastenings  to 
the  doors,  and  it  is  sometimes  impossible  even  to  close 
them.  AVhen  the  khansamah  brings  in  a  smoky  kerosene 
lamp  at  nightfall  he  pulls  down  the  transparent  curtains  or 
"  dhurries  "  of  split  cane  over  the  glass  part  of  the  doors, 
thus  enabling  any  one  outside  who  wishes  to  study  the 
habits  of  the  occupant  to  look  in,  while  remaining  invisi- 
ble himself.  But  when  the  crackling  fire  of  brushwood  is 
lighted  in  the  chimney,  the  room  loses  something  of  its 
gloom  and  loneliness.  Fireplaces  are  found  wherever  the 
winter  is  felt,  but  seldom  south  of  the  tropic,  and  during 
the  long  periods  Avhen  the  rooms  are  locked  up  and  de- 
serted they  serve  as  refuges  for  bats,  lizards,  and  the 
ubiquitous  mongoose.  It  is  not  customary  at  these  cara- 
vansaries to  make  out  a  bill  for  the  departing  guest,  as 
the  khansamah  is  usually  more  skilled  in  mental  arith- 
metic than  in  writing,  but  we  found  that  such  documents, 
when  we  could  get  them,  had  a  certain  literary  value. 
The  presiding  genius  of  the  Ahmedabad  bungalow,  known 
as  Shaikh  Boodhoo,  was  a  hairy,  shaggy-browed  Mussul- 
man, somewhat  advanced  in  years,  as  the  major  part  of 
bristling  blue-black  beard  was  quite  white  at  the  roots — 
and,  by-the-way,  it  is  not  always  easy  to  determine  the 
ag'e  of  a  Mussulman,  since  he  cultivates  baldness  from 
infancy,  when  conscientious  enough  to  follow  the  dictates 


ENGLISH  AS  SHE  IS  WROTE  407 

of  the  Prophet,  and  he  usually  begins  to  dye  his  beard 
at  an  early  period.  A  constantly  recurring  item  in  his 
weekly  account  was  "  Lamp  oil  burn,"  and  he  sometimes 
began  his  bill  with  the  lines  "  For  feeding  1  gentleman 
and  a  Lady.  lis.  annas."  At  another  place  of  entertain- 
ment the  khansamah,  who  did  not  even  pretend  to  speak 
English,  much  less  to  write  it,  when  the  bill  was  called 
for  summoned  his  little  boy  from  school  to  perform  this 
literary  task.  The  result  was  a  very  creditable  piece 
of  penmanship  on  pink  paper,  with  fourteen  repetitions 
of  the  line  "Food  for  2  men  Little  Big  Breakfast  Din- 
ner Ks  6-8  — ";  and  the  document  ended  with,  "For 
Writing  of  this  Bill  8  annas."  He  got  it,  for  the  laborer 
was  worthy  of  his  hire.  A  feature  of  the  Ahmedabad 
*'  rest  -  house,"  and  a  rather  depressing  one  should  the 
visitor  have  an  ill  turn,  was  a  small  band  of  frowsy,  ill- 
kempt  white  vultures,  which  were  accustomed  to  strut 
and  amble  about  the  compound,  and  to  look  in  at  the 
door  in  the  early  morning  to  see  if  perchance  there  was 
an}'^  streak  of  luck  for  them.  But  if  the  stranger  ap- 
peared in  his  normal  state  of  health  they  would  rise 
clumsily  from  the  ground,  and  flop  heavily  and  sadly 
away  to  some  more  promising  neighborhood. 


II 

Traveller  who  visit  India  for  no  other  purpose  than 
the  indulgence  of  globe-trotting  proclivities,  and  those  as 
well  Avho  have  a  special  object  of  study,  will  often  find 
their  circles  of  interest  gradually  widening;  few  can  es- 
cape being  attracted  by  the  strange  and  piquant  contrasts 
of  modern  Anglo-Indian  life,  thrown  into  sucli  strong  re- 
lief bv  the  media}val  background  of  unchanging  native 
custom.     AVhile  the  Ameer  of  Afghanistan  has  recentlv 


408  A  GARDEN-PARTY 

concluded  the  alliance  with  England,  has  strengthened  his 
defences,  and  according  to  a  French  journalist  has  sent 
to  a  London  firm  an  order  for  a  million  uniforms  and 
a  tailor  to  fit  them  on  his  men,  the  account  of  the  pa- 
geants and  ceremonies  at  Cabul  on  the  occasion  of  his 
son's  betrothal  reads  like  a  chapter  from  Froissart's  Chron- 
icles. 

At  official  functions,  such  as  durbars,  or  at  fetes  given 
by  native  princes,  and  at  semi-official  gatherings,  char- 
acterized by  an  intermingling,  if  not  a  momentary  blend- 
ing, of  races,  one  has  the  best  opportunities  of  observing 
these  curious  oppositions,  to  borrow  a  term  from  the  paint- 
er's vocabulary.  One  of  the  most  interesting  affairs  of 
this  kind  at  which  the  writer  had  the  good-fortune  to  be 
present  was  a  garden-party  given  by  the  lieutenant-gov- 
ernor of  one  of  the  northern  presidencies,  and  the  ostensi- 
ble reason  for  this  function  was  the  reception  of  certain 
native  dignitaries  and  the  delegates  of  neighboring  chief- 
tains. The  park -like  grounds  surrounding  Government 
House,  with  long  vistas  of  greensward,  winding  among 
tall  trees,  shrubbery,  and  parterres,  gorgeous  with  the 
winter  flora  of  India,  were  decorated  with  tents  and 
marquees  where  refreshments  were  served,  chairs  and 
benches  were  scattered  about,  and  there  were  tennis- 
courts  of  seductive  smoothness.  It  was  late  in  Decem- 
ber, clear  and  calm,  but  the  chill  in  the  air  as  the  sun 
went  down  seemed  hardly  in  accord  with  all  this  sum- 
mer luxuriance  and  the  costumes  and  parasols  of  the 
ladies,  although  some  of  them  compromised  by  wearing 
fur  capes.  At  similar  entertainments  in  Europe,  the 
smart  gowns  and  hats  of  the  ladies  give  the  keynote  of 
color,  but  here  they  were  quite  outshone  by  the  groups 
of  native  grandees,  all  attired  with  more  or  less  splendor, 
and  presenting  much  the  effect,  wherever  a  few  of  them 


410  COLOR   MASSES 

were  gathered  together,  of  bouquets  of  multi-colored  or- 
chids. In  the  suffused  red  light  of  sunset,  all  these  mar- 
vellous combinations  of  changeable  silks,  scarlet  cashmere, 
and  embroidered  velvet,  with  gold  lace  galore,  glowed  with 
additional  lustre. 

Against  the  sober  green  of  the  foliage  all  the  strangely 
shaped  turbans  of  silk  and  satin,  pale  lavender,  and  white 
and  gold,  or  with  changing  tints  of  palest  blue  or  cream 
color,  seemed  to  compete  in  brilliancy  with  the  masses  of 
flowers  around  them.  There  is  often  a  subtle  something, 
either  in  the  bearing  or  in  the  fashion  of  dress  of  these 
worthies,  particularly  those  of  portly  presence  and  pres- 
tige, which  reminds  one  of  old  portraits  of  Henry  VIII.  or 
Franyois  I.  in  all  their  purple  and  fine  linen.  The  more 
barbaric  red-and-gold  liveries  of  the  "  bearers  "  and  other 
servants  added  a  more  positive  if  less  delicate  note  of 
color.  Strolling  about  among  the  groups  of  Europeans 
were  two  brothers,  one  the  type  of  the  ideal  Sikh,  with 
handsome  aquiline  features,  ])ale  brown  skin,  and  black 
beard,  set  off  by  a  loosely  wound  turban  of  pale  lemon 
color,  and  a  long,  tightly-fitting  kaftan  of  black  velvet. 
For  the  most  part  these  native  personages  showed  a  ten- 
dency to  grou])  themselves  together,  and  to  sit  silently 
apart  from  the  Europeans,  not,  it  would  seem,  from  any 
consciousness  of  being  out  of  place,  for  they  performed 
their  social  duties  with  much  seriousness  and  dignity,  but 
perhaps  they  dreaded  the  effort  and  difficulty  of  carrying 
on,  in  an  unfamiliar  tongue,  conversation  suitable  to  the 
occasion.  It  may  be  that  some  of  this  aloofness  is  the  re- 
sult of  hereditary  habit,  not  unpardonable  in  a  race  where 
one  family,  at  least,  has  always  lived  up  to  its  standard  as 
an  example  for  the  others.  Whore  they  show  a  disposi- 
tion to  cultivate  the  society  of  Europeans,  tliey  are  not 
always  the  gainers  to  any  large  extent.     Naturally  they 


ATHLETIC  SPORTS  411 

are  at  once  sized  up  by  their  shrewd,  if  not  alwa^'s  un- 
friendly, critics,  and  measured  according  to  AVestern  stand- 
ards, and  even  a  Serene  Highness  is  at  once  set  down  as  a 
good  fellow,  a  dunce,  or  a  cad.  The  fact  that  but  few  of 
the  reigning  dynasties  have  been  long  establislied,  or  date 
back  to  the  early  days  of  English  rule  (a  fact  which  lias 
nothing  to  do  with  their  "claims  of  long  descent,"  in 
many  cases  of  undoubted  authenticity),  and  that  all  of 
them  owe  their  present  position  and  continuance  of  power 
to  the  supreme  government,  has  doubtless  something  to 
do  with  the  rather  patronizing  tone  often  taken  by  Euro- 
peans when  speaking  of  native  potentates.  At  a  polo- 
match,  which  took  place  near  the  cantonment  in  the  same 
district,  the  great  mass  of  the  spectators  were  Indian,  al- 
though few  of  the  higher  castes  were  represented  among 
the  invited  guests.  The  Rajah  of  a  neighboring  state,  who 
was  himself  a  polo-player  of  renown,  had  sent  his  team 
which  had  already  made  a  record  of  many  victories.  A 
line  of  regimental  mess-tents  afforded  the  best  positions 
for  viewing  the  contest.  These  tents,  or  rather  marquees, 
were  in  most  cases  lined  with  the  decorative  cotton  prints 
now  so  well  known  in  Europe,  carpeted  with  rugs,  and  fur- 
nished with  lounging-chairs ;  the  silver  of  each  regiment, 
often  including  monumental  trophies  won  by  their  teams 
on  other  fields,  was  displayed  on  the  refreshment-tables. 
There  was  a  fair  showing  of  ladies,  and  among  the  younger 
men,  mainly  of  the  military  caste,  but  never  by  any  chance 
in  uniform,  were  many  faces  recalling  the  ruddy,  sunburnt 
types  so  familiar  at  Zermatt  in  the  seascm.  There  is  usually 
a  striking  uniformity  among  modern  I'ritons  of  this  ty|)e, 
whether  one  meets  them  tran(|uilly  lunching  on  the  aj)ex 
of  the  Matterhorn,  or  tearing  about  on  j)olo  j)onies  at 
I>enares  in  the  season  of  the  hot  winds  and  in  the  heat 
of  the  day,  when  the  prudent  coolie,  with  more  rcsjwct 


412  CREATURE  COMFORTS 

for  his  complexion,  has  gone  to  bed  under  his  sheltering- 
eaves. 

On  this  occasion  I  was  the  guest  for  the  day  of  Sigis- 
mond  Justh,  the  Hungarian  novelist,  who  was  studying 
life  from  the  officers'  quarters  of  a  native  regiment,  and  as 
we  both  became  interested  in  reminiscences  of  Paris,  and 
in  the  adventures  of  a  young  officer  of  engineers,  who  had 
just  crossed  the  Pamir  from  Siberia  by  a  new  route,  we 
failed  to  see  the  end  of  the  match  which  was  fought  out 
in  a  distant  part  of  the  field.  The  mess  dinner  which  fol- 
lowed appeared  to  verify  my  friend's  conviction  that  these 
gentlemen  had  mastered  the  art  of  being  comfortable,  and 
of  living  together  in  harmony,  quite  after  the  manner  of 
a  large  family.  There  was  an  air  of  homely  comfort  with 
a  spice  of  luxury  at  the  mess  bungalow,  as  well  as  at  the 
private  quarters  of  each  officer ;  screens  were  placed  wher- 
ever an  insidious  draught  could  penetrate,  and  there  were 
Avood  fires  in  every  room. 

My  Hungarian  friend  had  visited,  during  the  previous 
winter,  a  military  station  in  Algeria,  where  the  officers, 
with  all  the  amiable  characteristics  of  their  race  and  all 
the  hon  volo7ite  possible,  had  somehow  failed  to  surround 
themselves  with  that  atmosphere  of  home  comfort  which 
the  Briton  in  exile  knows  so  well  how  to  create.  During 
the  interval  before  dinner  we  made  the  round  of  the  camp 
and  visited  the  hospital  barracks  with  the  captain,  most 
genial  of  hosts,  as  it  was  his  day  for  inspection.  We  met 
on  the  road  a  group  of  regimental  musicians,  practising 
on  strange  instruments,  one  of  which  resembled  a  bag- 
pipe, and  their  leader,  a  young  Afghan  of  formidable  phy- 
sique, who  had  rather  the  air  of  a  brigand  than  a  refined 
musician  and  an  improvisateur,  in  obedience  to  a  word 
from  the  captain  promised  to  bring  his  men  to  the  bun- 
galow after  dinner.     When  we  returned  we  found  them 


A  MUSICALE  413 

installed  in  the  drawing-room  and  tuning  up  their  instru- 
ments. The  captain,  provided  with  a  ponderous  volume 
of  Afghan  songs  and  ballads,  was  assisted  by  the  tower- 
ing young  brigand,  who  led  the  orchestra,  in  drawing  up 
the  programme,  while  the  other  musicians,  nearly  all 
members  of  a  tribe  of  gypsies  from  the  hills  of  tlie  bor- 
der-land, and  having  the  appearance  of  Pathens  as  well, 
swarthy  and  long-haired,  seated  themselves  along  the 
base  of  the  white  wall,  holding  their  peculiarly  shaped 
instruments.  Xever  have  I  seen  a  stranger  and  more 
picturesque  contrast  of  races  than  was  presented  by  this 
group  of  half-savage  minstrels  on  their  good  behavior, 
and  the  young  officers  in  braided  mess-jackets  of  scarlet 
or  drab,  and  the  two  guests  stretched  out  in  bamboo 
chairs,  wearing  the  conventional  black  and  white  which 
is  always  de  ri<jeur  on  festal  occasions.  There  was  a 
quality  in  this  weird  Afghan  music  which  suggested  the 
prolonged  and  plaintive  cadences  of  the  Spanish  gj-psies, 
and  it  appealed  the  more  forcibly  to  the  poetic  nature  of 
my  fellow-guest  from  its  affinity  with  that  of  his  own 
country. 

At  this  cantonment  we  found  the  usual  little  club  or 
neutral  ground  for  informal  social  meetings,  which,  as  in 
other  small  stations,  had  a  domestic,  homelike  air,  rather 
than  that  of  a  public  rendezvous ;  ladies  came  in,  and 
played  on  the  piano  or  sang  duets  with  men  in  tennis 
costume,  who  dropped  it  from  time  to  time,  and  there  ajv 
peared  to  be  a  conspicuous  absence  of  that  formality  usu- 
all}'  to  be  found  in  the  larger  clubs.  Residents  or  visitors 
all  seemed  to  be  on  the  same  terms  of  good-fellowship, 
and,  as  at  the  mess-table,  quite  as  if  they  all  made  part 
of  the  same  large  family.  This  enforced  intimacy,  where 
people  are  thrown  together  of  necessity,  may  have  its 
disagreeable  side,  but  the  writer  is  free  to  admit  that  he 


414  CLUB  LIFE 

was  not  made  aware  of  it,  or  it  may  be  presumed  that 
those  clubs  at  which  he  was  presented  were  exceptionally 
fortunate  as  regards  the  personal  and  social  qualities  of 
their  members.  In  the  principal  Mofussil  capitals,  where 
the  European  element  is  larger,  these  clubs  naturally  have 
a  more  metropolitan  character.  As  at  the  smaller  ones, 
there  are  always  well-kept,  cemented  tennis-courts,  a  bill- 
iard -  room,  library,  and  reading-room,  where  the  leading 
journals  of  every  country.  Harper's  and  other  American 
magazines,  are  almost  invariably  found,  as  they  are  every- 
where, except  in  some  of  the  best-known  Parisian  cercles, 
where  the  Police  Gazette  is  often  the  only  representative 
of  American  illustrated  literature.  But  in  the  great  cities 
these  institutions  are  planned  on  a  more  generous  scale. 
At  the  "  Byculla  Club "  the  stranger  cannot  but  be  im- 
pressed with  the  faultless  service  and  the  air  of  luxury 
pervading  the  living  quarters  of  resident  members,  and 
which  might  well  have  the  effect  of  deterring  many  a 
bachelor  from  launching  into  the  untried,  from  giving  up 
the  certainty  of  an  easy  existence  for  the  perils  and  un- 
certainties of  house-keeping  in  a  country  bungalow,  or, 
worse  still,  of  married  life  in  an  Indian  hotel.  Economy 
of  space,  always  an  important  consideration  in  Western 
capitals,  does  not  appear  to  have  fettered  the  gradual 
growth  and  extension  of  the  club  premises  in  every  direc- 
tion. Ample  stabling  accommodation  is  provided  for  the 
horses  and  carriages  of  resident  members,  and  in  a  climate 
like  that  of  Bombay,  where  plenty  of  air  and  space  are  of 
primary  importance,  the  height  and  spaciousness  of  most 
of  the  rooms  are  very  satisfactory  after  the  comparatively 
cramped  quarters  of  most  hotels  in  the  Fort.  The  "  Yacht 
Club,"  which  is  in  a  way  the  Jockey  Club  of  Bombay, 
stands  close  to  the  sea  and  near  the  Apollo  Bunder,  the 
popular  gathering- place  when  the  band  plays  there  at 


UNDER  THK  PUNKAH  AT  THK  YACHT  CLUB 


416  A   BRILLIANT   SCENE 

sundown,  as  well  as  a  landing-place  for  passengers  by  sea, 
presents  at  first  sight  the  appearance  of  a  summer  casino, 
with  its  framework  of  varnished  wood,  innumerable  awn- 
ings and  flags,  and  strengthens  the  illusion  which  the 
traveller  sometimes  has,  on  landing  at  the  "Bunder," 
that  he  has  reached  an  Oriental  watering-place  rather 
than  a  bustling  commercial  seaport;  for  there  is  an  ab- 
sence, in  this  quarter  at  least,  of  the  unsightly  surround- 
ings which  generally  mar  the  approach  to  other  great 
capitals.  At  the  dinner  hour,  seldom  earlier  than  half- 
past  eight,  the  lofty  dining-room,  with  a  multitude  of 
small  tables,  at  which  parties  of  four,  six,  or  eight  are 
seated,  ladies  in  evening  dress,  and  men  who  are  usually 
types  of  the  civil  or  military  orders,  gives  one  an  impres- 
sion in  which  much  that  is  agreeably  familiar  is  flavored 
with  something  more  novel  and  exotic.  There  are  no 
long  punkahs  suspended  overhead,  but  the  servants  at 
each  table,  in  blue  liveries  adorned  with  silver  lace,  wield 
great  palm-leaf  fans  brilliantly  draped  and  frilled,  and  the 
sight  of  all  these  slowly  -  moving  masses  of  color  shot 
through  with  the  sparkle  of  gold  or  silver  threads,  the 
twinkling  lights,  and  the  intermittent  fanning  of  the  sul- 
try sea-breeze  which  draws  in  through  the  open  spaces 
over  the  wide  tracts  of  polished  floor,  all  stamp  the  scene 
with  the  unmistakable  character  of  the  South — not  that 
which  we  know  at  Monte  Carlo  or  on  farther  Mediter- 
ranean shores,  but  the  true  South  which  lies  beyond  the 
tropic. 


THE   FINANCIAL  SITUATION  417 


III 

..."  And  Yama  said,  For  this  question  it  was  inquired  of  old  even 
by  tlie  gods  ;  for  it  is  not  easy  to  understand  it ;  subtle  is  its  natun'. 
Choose  another  boon,  oh,  Nachiketas  !     Do  not  compel  me  to  this  !" 

It  was  intimated  to  the  writer  a  year  ago,  more  or  less, 
that  some  comments  on  the  present  financial  situation  in 
India,  what  is  properly  known  as  the  Rupee  Question, 
would  be  timely  and  acceptable.  Since  that  time  each 
successive  mail  has  brought  in  reviews  and  solutions  of 
the  state  of  affairs,  suggestions,  statements  and  reports, 
complaints,  amendments,  and  explanations,  each  offering 
the  only  practical  solution  of  this  financial  equation.  Hin- 
doos, Parsees,  and  Mussulmans  have  all  rushed  into  print, 
bankers,  Japanese  ministers,  and  retired  army  officers 
have  all  written  letters  expressing  their  conflicting  opin- 
ions with  more  or  less  lucidity  where  technical  experts, 
fearing:  to  commit  themselves,  have  shown  a  wise  reti- 
cence,  or  have  only  added  to  the  general  perplexity. 

To  attempt  the  unravelling  of  this  tangled  skein  is  a 
task  which  few  skilled  financiers  would  care  to  under- 
take, but  it  is  still  possible  to  present  a  few  of  the  causes 
which  are  thought  to  have  led  to  the  present  depreci- 
ation of  the  currency,  and  some  of  the  devices  by  which 
the  home  government  had  hoped  to  help  India  out  of 
the  difficulty,  but  which  have  so  far  proved  inadequate. 
When  the  East  India  Loan  Bill  (£10,000,000)  was  brought 
up  from  the  Commons  and  read  for  the  first  time  in  tlie 
House  of  Lords  (December  19,  1S03),  Lord  Kimberley 
then  moved  the  second  reading  of  the  bill  and  explained 
at  some  length  the  circumstances  which  rendered  neces- 
sary an  application  to  Parliament  for  further  power  to 


418  THE   MINT  QUESTION 

raise  a  loan  in  England  for  the  service  of  India,  He  then 
said  in  his  speech  in  regard  to  the  closing  of  the  mints  in 
that  country,  an  experiment  which  it  was  imagined  b}'- 
the  government  might  check  the  downward  tendency  of 
the  rupee — "  If  it  should  so  happen  that  this  policy  of 
closing  the  mints  should  entirely  fail,  we  shall  be  thrown 
back  into  our  original  situation,  which  is  a  very  grave  one, 
because  at  the  present  price  of  silver  the  exchange,  if  meas- 
ured as  it  is  usually  measured,  stands  at  no  more  than  one 
shilling  and  one-eighth ;  and  speaking  in  round  numbers,  at 
that  rate  of  exchange  the  government  of  India  would  be 
landed  in  a  deficit  of  no  less  than  6,000,000  rupees.  That 
would  be  a  deficit  of  a  most  serious  and  alarming  charac- 
ter." Turning  to  another  point  the  Secretar}''  of  State  re- 
marked :  "  With  regard  to  the  trade  in  silver,  of  course 
before  we  closed  the  mints  silver  went  to  a  large  extent 
to  India  for  the  purpose  of  being  coined  into  rupees.  Any 
one  might  present  silver  at  the  mints,  and  that  silver  was 
coined  and  he  received  the  rupees.  Naturally  at  all  times 
there  was  a  good  deal  of  silver  that  did  not  find  its  Avay 
to  the  mints,  but  now  all  the  silver  sent  must  be  for  oth- 
er purposes.  The  question  naturally  arises :  What  are 
these  other  purposes — what  is  the  reason  for  this  very 
large,  continuous  demand?  .  .  .  Quite  recently  I  have 
been  able  to  ask  the  opinion  of  Sir  David  Barbour,  who 
was  financial  member  of  the  Council  of  the  government 
of  India,  and  who  has  just  returned  to  this  country.  He 
tells  me  his  opinion  is  that  there  exists  in  India  always  a 
very  large  demand  for  silver,  and  that  demand  has  been 
stimulated  in  the  ordinary  way  in  which  a  demand  is 
stimulated  for  a  commodity  by  the  large  fall  in  the  price 
of  silver.  The  natives  generally  consider  that  this  is  a 
most  favorable  opportunity  to  purchase  silver  for  the  pur- 
pose of  ornaments ;  and  Sir  David  Barbour  thinks  that 


THE  SOURCE  OF  TROUBLE  419 

probably  accounts  for  the  larger  part  of  the  demand. 
When  we  remember  that  the  population  of  India  numbers 
287,000,000,  Ave  see  that  any  increased  demand  from  so 
vast  a  population  may  easily  produce  a  very  considerable 
result.  The  other  cause  may  be  connected  with  specula- 
tion. At  all  events,  there  is  the  fact  that  this  very  large 
amount  of  silver  is  now  going  into  India." 

In  the  course  of  the  same  debate  the  Marquis  of  Salis- 
bury expressed  his  opinion  that  there  was  no  possible  way 
of  making  the  rupee  rarer  by  artificial  means,  and  de- 
plored the  measures  which  had  been  taken  ;  also  that  the 
attempt  to  create  a  "  rupee  vacuum  "  by  processes  analo- 
gous to  those  of  physical  science  would  surely  fail,  for  in 
spite  of  the  most  skilful  manipulation  rupees  were  still 
creeping  in  by  channels  both  obvious  and  obscure.  We 
also  believed  that  the  "  private  mints  "  of  India  were  un- 
usually active. 

Ever  since  the  close  of  the  civil  war  in  America  there 
has  been  a  disposition  on  the  part  of  India  to  attribute  its 
financial  embarrassment  to  the  United  States,  and  the  sil- 
ver policy  of  our  government  has  had  be\'ond  a  doubt 
much  to  do  with  its  recent  misfortunes.  Among  other 
remedies  proposed,  the  introduction  of  a  gold  standard 
has  been  taken  into  consideration,  and  an  import  duty  on 
silver  has  been  imposed,  which  it  is  expected  will  enable 
the  government  to  derive  a  larger  profit  from  its  monop- 
oly of  coining  rupees  from  cheap  silver,  and  thus  avoid 
the  complications  which  would  certainly  arise  from  fur- 
ther taxation.  A  Hindoo  banker  who  has  written  a  mem- 
orandum on  this  matter  (^[arch,  1894)  gives  an  adilition- 
al  reason  for  the  step  that  the  price  of  silver  has  been  S(^ 
much  lowered  in  England  and  America,  that  loo  tolas  -  of 

*  A  tola  is  worth  approximately  180  grains  troy. 


420  A  LOSS  OF  CONFIDENCE 

silver,  which  cost  106  rupees  before,  can  now  be  pur- 
chased in  Bombay  for  from  85  to  86  rupees.  It  is  the 
opinion  of  many  that  if  bimetallism  had  been  adopted 
long  ago,  the  country  would  have  been  saved  from  the 
evils  of  its  present  monetary  policy,  but  at  present  this 
could  only  be  done  by  concert  with  the  leading  nations 
of  the  world. 

Among  the  many  criticisms  called  forth  by  the  action 
of  the  government  in  closing  the  mints,  that  of  the  Japan- 
ese Minister  of  Finance  is  one  of  the  most  intelligent,  and 
sums  up  the  situation  in  a  few  words :  "  The  stoppage  of 
free  silver  coinage  in  India,"  he  said,  "  has  only  increased 
the  amount  of  current  silver  coin,  and  materially  injured 
the  popular  confidence  in  that  metal.  The  primary  ob- 
ject of  the  stoppage  was  to  limit  the  increase  of  silver 
coin  and  to  prevent  its  depreciation ;  but  that  the  con- 
trary result  was  obtained  can  be  attributed  to  nothing 
but  the  ignorance  of  the  British  authorities  on  Indian 
affairs.  The  reason  of  the  unexpected  result  appears  to 
be  as  follows :  Indians  have  little  confidence  in  each 
other,  and  only  those  are  respected  as  men  of  wealth 
who  possess  most  gold  and  silver  money,  and  adorn  their 
persons  with  most  ornaments  of  the  same  metal.  They 
bury  their  rupees  in  the  earth,  and  do  their  best  not  to 
spend  them.  But  with  the  stoppage  of  silver  coinage 
silver  coins  no  longer  increased,  and  the  Indians  began  to 
unearth  their  buried  coins,  which  were  brought  into  the 
money  market.  Thus,  though  silver  was  no  longer  coined, 
its  circulation  suddenly  increased.  This  was  a  most  un- 
expected result,  and  the  English  did  not  foresee  it  when 
they  gave  the  injurious  order."  Forced  by  the  cries  and 
lamentations  of  the  sufferers  to  continue  its  series  of 
financial  experiments,  the  "  British  Raj  "  has  imagined  an 
"  automatic  method  "  of  keeping  the  rupee's  head  above 


A  DEPRECIATED  CURRENCY  421 

water  for  a  while  longer,  and  has  provided  means  to  pay 
in  gold  for  all  the  rupees  offered  at  the  fixed  rate  of  Is. 
4:d.  each.  Thus  the  rupee  would  be  automatically  kept 
from  rising  beyond  that  figure  should  it  ever  reach  it. 
In  the  meantime  the  leading  journals  of  the  countr}'^ 
continue  to  denounce  the  tardy  and  fruitless  measures  of 
the  home  government,  to  assert  that  it  has  lost  the  confi- 
dence of  the  people  of  India,  and  to  lament  over  the 
miseries  of  a  great  empire  sorely  oppressed  by  such  a 
grievous  burden.  In  spite  of  all  the  measures  proposed 
and  carried  out,  the  rupee  has  continued  to  dwindle  until 
no  one  dares  to  prophesy  what  will  finally  be  left  of  it ; 
but  at  the  same  time  the  average  revenues  of  the  empire 
have  been  unchanged,  there  has  been  no  occasion  for  ex- 
traordinary expenditures,  such  as  war  or  famine,  and,  ac- 
cording to  a  reliable  authority,  there  is  surplus  money  to 
the  value  of  9,000,000  rupees  locked  up  in  the  treasury — 
as  useless  an  experiment,  this  observer  thinks,  as  locking 
up  silver  dollars  in  the  American  Treasury.  Among  those 
who  have  suffered  the  most,  and  who,  it  would  seem,  have 
often  just  cause  for  complaint,  are  the  officials,  officers, 
and  public  servants,  whose  salaries  are  paid  in  rupees  at 
rates  fixed  b}^  the  government  when  the  rupee  was  worth 
its  nominal  value  of  two  shillings.  In  man}^  cases  these  sal- 
aries have  not  been  increased,  and  while  usually  sufficient 
for  current  expenses  in  India,  fall  wofully  short  when 
officials  thus  paid  have  families  in  England,  and  are  obliged 
to  send  home  drafts  payable  in  pounds  sterling.  To  meet 
the  necessities  of  this  class  the  fixed  rate  of  exclumge 
was  devised,  and  a  "  compensation  allowance  '"  granted. 

Although  it  is  doubtless  a  disreputable  source  of  gain 
to  profit  by  the  misfortunes  of  our  neighbors,  it  must 
be  admitted  that  it  is  not  always  an  ill  wind  wliicli  blows 
the  traveller  to  the  '*  coral  strand '"  at  this  critical  mo- 


422  A  CRISIS  IN    TRADE 

ment.  However  conscientious  he  may  be,  he  can  hardly 
help  profiting  by  the  situation  if  he  carries  a  letter 
of  credit,  circular  notes,  and,  moreover,  a  few  "  five-pun  " 
notes  in  his  pocket,  which  will  bring  him  in,  if  I  am  not 
mistaken,  an  additional  premium.  While  he  will  find  the 
cost  of  living  at  hotels  nearly  or  quite  the  same  as  it 
was  ten  years  ago,  he  will  also  find  that  the  prices  of  im- 
ported goods  and  native  commodities  of  all  sorts  have 
remained  nearly  stationary,  for  competition  has  increased, 
and  dealers  have  been  afraid  to  raise  their  prices  for  fear 
of  losing  custom.  Some  keen  observer  has  been  looking 
about  to  find  those  who  have  profited  by  the  fall  of  the 
rupee,  but  he  has  as  yet  discovered  no  one — not  among 
the  poor  Ryots,  who  were  supposed  at  one  time  to  be 
making  their  fortunes  and  bur3ang  them  in  the  ground, 
nor  among  "  middle  men ;"  and  certainly  not  among  the 
English  merchants  and  importers,  wiio  buy  in  sovereigns 
and  sell  in  rupees,  and  whose  business,  to  use  his  own 
words,  "  is  rapidly  going  to  pot  and  to  rot,  and  disappear- 
ing just  as  fast  as  the  rupee  has  disappeared." 


IV 

It  is  quite  possible  to  dislike  reforms  and  to  entertain 
a  rooted  aversion  for  the  improvements  proposed  by  phi- 
lanthropists, which,  when  carried  out,  do  so  much  towards 
destroying  the  local  charm  of  a  country  like  India.  At 
the  same  time,  one  cannot  but  admit  that  there  are  dark 
and  filthy  corners  in  the  social  fabric  which  are  sadly  in 
need  of  wholesome  purification,  although  the  new  ele- 
ments introduced  during  this  process  are  apt  to  be,  like 
the  restored  patches  on  the  Doge's  palace,  somewhat  in- 
congruous and  out  of  harmony  with  the  rest.  In  view  of 
the  extent  to  which  this  countrv  has  been  made  a  field 


424  PHYSICAL  CULTURE 

for  all  manner  of  experiments — financial,  moral,  and  edu- 
cational— it  would  be  an  interesting  theme  for  any  student 
of  social  problems  to  make  a  thorough  study  of  these  va- 
rious schemes  for  the  amelioration  of  alien  races  from 
their  very  start,  and  to  note  how  far  they  have  proved 
successful.  That  many  of  them  have  been  productive  of 
good  results  thus  far  is  sufficiently  evident,  and  partic- 
ularly those  bearing  on  the  physical  well-being  of  the 
Indian.  The  Hindoo,  the  Mussulman,  the  Parsee  has  each 
his  own  "  gymkana,"  or  open-air  club,  for  the  encourage- 
ment of  out-of-door  exercise  and  athletic  sports  ;  each 
race  now  has  its  experts  and  semi  -  professionals  in  the 
cricket-fleld  as  Avell  as  in  polo  and  tennis.  Much  interest 
was  recently  awakened  by  the  address  of  a  distinguished 
Hindoo  scholar,  the  vice-chancellor  of  one  of  the  principal 
universities,  in  which  he  deplored  at  length  the  prema- 
ture decline  of  the  Hindoo  graduate,  his  feebleness  and 
want  of  physical  stamina,  much  of  which  he  attributed  to 
the  prevalent  custom  of  early  marriage,  as  well  as  to  the 
lack  of  regular  physical  training.  He  contrasted  this  la- 
mentable state  of  the  intellectual  Hindoo  with  the  great- 
er vigor  of  the  Parsee  and  Mussulman  youth,  and  their 
longer  tenure  of  life.  Some  of  the  learned  gentleman's 
conclusions  have  been  disputed,  and  the  abnormal  pov- 
erty of  the  Hindoo  students,  particularly  the  Mahrattas, 
is  believed  by  man}^  to  be  an  important  reason.  The 
cause  of  physical  culture,  however,  received  an  impetus, 
and  within  a  few  years  there  has  been  a  large  increase 
of  bicycling,  tennis,  and  cricket.  Merely  to  enumerate 
these  laudable  efforts,  many  of  which  originated  in  the 
governing  country,  would  necessitate  an  article  by  itself. 
The  Hindoo  peasant  and  laborer  sees  his  oldest  and  most 
cherished  institutions  attacked  and  slowly  undermined  in 
the  interests  of  progress,  and  one  of  them  is  the  village 


BAD  IMITATIONS  425 

well,*  that  most  picturesque  place  of  rendezvous  in  all 
primitive  communities. 

The  mild  Hindoo  has  not  yet  become  reconciled  to 
compulsory  purification,  and  it  may  take  time  to  induce 
him  to  abandon  customs  which  his  ancestoi-s  have  followed 
for  ages.  But  a  very  sensible  innovation  has  been  recently 
introduced,  and  one  to  which  all  classes  have  taken  kindly, 


*  A  writer  in  tlie  Pioiuer  has  given  us  a  very  forcible  description  of 
the  old  state  of  oiatters,  while  he  finds  the  somewhat  complicated  reme- 
dies proposed  not  altogether  satisfactorj'^:  "Take,  for  instance,  a  village 
on  the  banks  of  a  river.  Now  this,  one  would  think,  has  the  advantage 
of  pure  water,  and  so  it  should  ;  but  then  there  is  the  trifling  objection 
of  a  half -burnt  corpse  polluting  the  stream,  and  the  nameless  otiier 
causes  which  make  the  banks  of  a  river  to  be  avoided  as  a  place  for 
enjoying  fresh  air.  But  the  real  horrors  of  village  life  come  into  view 
when  the  village  is  away  from  the  stream.  To  the  outward  e\Q  most 
of  the  houses  are  very  clean.  It  is  part  of  the  religion  of  the  people  to 
keep  them  so.  The  same  people,  however,  who  religiously  wash  the  out- 
side walls  of  their  homes  and  keep  the  floor  scrupulously  clean  pursue 
a  different  line  of  conduct  with  respect  to  themselves.  They  are  scrupu- 
lous in  washing,  but  their  bodies,  like  their  houses,  are  whited  sepul- 
chres, if  one  can  use  the  adjective  to  the  Bengali.  They  wash  their 
bodies,  their  clothes,  and  even  their  cattle,  but  then  they  fill  their  water- 
vessels  with  the  water  in  which  these  various  washings  have  taken  place, 
and  take  it  home  to  cook  their  food,  and  also  for  drinking  purposes.  Then 
next  to  the  carefully  washed  home  one  can  see  a  heap  of  rotting,  fester- 
ing vegetable  matter,  just  at  the  season  when  such  matter  attracts  disease, 
when  the  hot- weather  sun  extracts  every  noxious  gas  that  can  be  gener- 
ated, and  diffuses  it  throughout  the  village.  In  the  rains  the  same  rot- 
ting mass  is  washed  about,  and  spreads  malaria  as  it  dries.  The  houses 
themselves  are  built  in  the  midst  of  paddy-fields.  A  hole  is  scooped  in 
the  earth,  out  of  which  enough  muck  is  scraped  to  make  the  tlooring  of 
the  hut.  and  then  is  carefully  left  unfilled,  in  order  that  it  may  serve  as 
an  emporium  for  all  kinds  of  filth  and  rubbish." 

One  of  the  remedies  proposed  was  to  build  an  iron  dome  over  tiie 
well,  and  provide  an  iron  pump  and  the  necesstiry  machinery  (at  the 
expense  of  the  villages),  while  another  suggested  building  up  tlie  well 
and  laying  a  pipe  down  to  the  spring  at  the  bottom. 


426  THE  OPIUM  QUESTION 

in  the  shape  of  postal  packets  of  quinine,  sold  at  reduced 
rates  by  the  local  postal  authorities.  Xothing  seems  to 
have  escaped  the  strong  search -lights  which  have  been 
thrown  on  the  sore  spots  of  India  by  medical,  moral,  and 
sanitary  commissions ;  and  even  opium  eating,  that  main- 
stay and  sole  dissipation  of  innumerable  classes  from  Raj- 
poot to  Ryot,  has  narrowly  escaped  being  a  matter  for 
legislation.  The  "  Opium  Commission,"  which  has  recent- 
ly been  stirring  up  all  India  to  its  very  depths,  was  insti- 
tuted for  the  purpose  of  attacking  the  abuse  of  opium,  and 
restricting  its  sale  and  consequent  consumption.  The  Ind- 
ian daily  papers  during  tlie  past  winter  have  been  near- 
ly monopolized  by  reports  of  its  proceedings,  by  the  evi- 
dence on  both  sides,  and  by  the  letters  and  protestations, 
written  by  people  of  every  race  and  caste ;  and  it  may  be 
said  without  reservation  that  the  results  of  these  investi- 
gations have  been  an  undoubted  triumph  for  the  opium 
eater,  and  that  far  from  lessening  the  consumption  of  the 
drug  they  are  likely  to  increase  it  beyond  all  precedent. 
Even  the  disinterested  motives  of  tliose  who  originated 
the  commission  have  been  questioned  by  the  uneducated 
classes  in  the  Punjaub,  who  believe  that  it  was  sent  out 
by  English  merchants  with  the  object  of  stopping  the 
opium  trade  in  order  to  introduce  their  own  whiskey  as 
a  substitute.  In  short,  so  different  has  been  the  effect  of 
this  investigation  from  that  which  was  anticipated,  that 
few  can  read  the  reports  without  feeling  inclined  to  try 
the  drug  and  see  how  it  works  on  their  own  systems. 
The  mass  of  accumulated  evidence  and  statistics  would 
fill  several  "  Blue  Books,"  but  the  report  of  eacli  day's 
proceedings  is  more  or  less  an  abstract  of  the  whole,  each 
nearly  complete  in  itself,  and  each  strengthening  the  cause 
of  the  opium  consumer.  "Wherever  a  medical  oificer  re- 
ported on  the  condition  of  his  men  just  returned  from 


428  SCIENTIFIC  TESTIMONY 

active  service  in  Burmah  or  elsewhere,  it  appeared  that 
the  best  soldiers,  morally  and  physically,  those  who  were 
always  exempt  from  such  maladies  as  dysentery,  fever, 
cholera,  and  rheumatism,  were  the  opium  eaters ;  they 
were  able  to  go  longer  without  food  or  stimulants,  and 
to  do  more  work.  The  testimony  of  physicians  both 
European  and  native  was  almost  invariably  in  favor  of 
the  drug  when  used  moderately  in  the  simple  form  known 
to  native  consumers.  Surgeon-General  Sir  "William  Moore 
said  "  he  had  often  smoked  opium,  and  really  did  not  see 
where  the  wickedness  and  immorality  came  in.  As  a  mat- 
ter of  fact,  one  might  see  more  immorality  in  a  London 
gin-shop  in  half  an  hour  even  on  a  Sunday  night  than  in 
an  opium-shop  during  a  whole  year."  It  has  been  found 
that  opium  is  cheaper  than  wine  or  spirits,  less  detri- 
mental to  the  system,  and  just  the  right  agent  to  stim- 
ulate the  indolent  Oriental  nature,  as  well  as  to  counter- 
act the  weakening  effects  of  a  vegetable  diet  and  scarcity 
of  food.  Many  a  poor  "  Ryot "  who  can  hardly  pull  him- 
self together  for  want  of  proper  nourishment  is  enabled 
by  its  aid  to  do  a  good  day's  work,  while  at  the  same 
time  it  serves  him  as  a  specific  against  the  maladies  re- 
sulting from  unhealthy  surroundings.  The  prospect  of 
opium  being  unobtainable  except  as  a  medicine  was 
viewed  with  alarm  by  all  classes ;  witnesses  from  every 
part  of  the  empire  anticipated  dire  results  and  an  appall- 
ing death-rate.     (Report,  A j mere,  January  30th.) 

Great  and  wide -spread  was  the  consternation  when 
people  were  at  last  reluctantly  compelled  to  believe  that 
the  commission  had  actually  begun  its  Avork.  Many  a 
veteran  Sikh  who  had  fought  with  the  best  in  the  dark 
days  of  mutiny,  and  could  look  back  on  a  long  record  of 
honest  labor  during  the  Roman  peace  which  followed,  all 
accomplished  by  the  aid  of  his  little  "dabbi,"  or  box  of 


SOCIAL  QUESTIONS  429 

opium,  must  have  been  sorely  shaken  in  his  loyalty,  or 
have  believed  that  the  British  Raj  had  lost  its  head. 
While  scientists,  philosophers,  and  empirics  in  Europe 
have  been  experimenting  for  ages  to  find  the  Elixir  of 
Life,  these  simple  Orientals  have  contented  themselves 
with  producing  by  homoeopathic  doses  of  opium  effects 
analogous  to  those  hoped  for  from  the  discovery  of  Dr. 
Brown-Sequard  ;  and  if  they  have  not  succeeded  in  renew- 
ing their  youth,  have  certainly  managed  to  make  it  last 
longer.  Many  who  understand  the  nature  of  the  people 
fear  that  if  they  were  unable  to  procure  their  daily  dose 
of  opium  they  would  resort  to  cheap  alcoholic  stimulants 
far  more  disastrous  in  their  effects.  There  are  others  who 
say  that  the  "political  barometer  is  unsteady,"  and  that 
it  is  a  bad  time  for  officious  or  meddlesome  interference 
with  native  customs. 

The  subject  of  "child  widowhood"  and  the  generally 
inferior  condition  of  women  in  India  has  been  attracting 
much  attention  of  late,  and  now  we  are  beginning  to  hear 
the  other  side  of  the  question.  We  are  told  that  all  are 
not  so  badly  off  as  some  of  these  eager  reformers  would 
have  us  believe. 

Intelligent  and  progressive  Hindoos  have  begun  to  com- 
pare their  own  marriage  customs  with  those  which  obtain 
in  Christian  countries  ;  and  while  deploring  the  evil  whicii 
often  results  from  the  system  so  long  in  use,  according  to 
which  the  bridegroom  marries  in  the  dark,  as  it  were,  and 
is  seldom  enlightened  as  to  the  qualities,  intellectual  and 
physical,  of  his  bride  until  it  is  too  late  to  retract,  are  be- 
ginning to  make  comparisons  and  to  ask  questions  difficult 
to  answer.  While  they  are  generally  disposed  to  acce))t 
the  superiority  of  things  European  on  trust,  like  articles 
purchased  in  a  '*  European  slio}),"  they  lind  it  hard  to  un- 
derstand wh}'  divorce  and  legal  separation,  whicli  are  not 


430  EDUCATIONAL  FACILITIES 

sanctioned  by  Hindoo  custom,  are  so  prevalent  in  Europe, 
But  if  the  existing  abuses  are  to  be  remedied  by  the  edu- 
cation of  women  rather  than  by  legislative  interference 
with  long-established  custom,  there  is  abundant  reason  to 
suppose  that  every  advantage  enjoyed  by  their  sex  else- 
where will  eventually  be  given  them.  On  every  hand 
new  schools  and  colleges  for  girls  are  being  opened, 
which  often  have  classes  for  young  married  women ;  and 
they  have  long  since  begun  to  avail  themselves  of  the  op- 
portunities offered  for  higher  education,  and  are  compet- 
ing successfully  with  their  brothers  even  for  the  degree 
of  M.A. ;  but  at  present  Eurasians  and  Parsees  head  the 
list  of  university  honors.  An  English  reviewer  who  does 
not  altogether  believe  in  "  the  disabilities  of  Indian  wom- 
en, and  the  hide-bound  system  which  allows  them  no  op- 
portunities of  shining,"  has  lately  written  in  the  Calcutta 
Review  some  reminiscences  of  the  Begum  Sumroo,  a  lady 
who  came  to  the  front  in  the  early  part  of  this  century, 
governed  a  native  state,  led  armies,  and  altogether  tri- 
umphantly established  the  ability  of  her  sex  in  that 
country. 


One  cannot  remain  twenty-four  hours  in  India  without 
becoming  aware  that  caste  distinctions  flourish  among 
the  English  as  well  as  among  the  disciples  of  Brahma; 
and  if  one  has  not  given  any  previous  thought  to  the  mnt- 
ter,  the  conviction  that  such  is  the  case  may  give  him  the 
degree  of  satisfaction  which  usually  results  from  the  dis- 
covery of  the  new  and  unexpected.  The  impression  may 
have  taken  form  and  substance  from  the  outward-bound 
P.  &  O.  steamer,  that  microsm  of  Anglo-Indian  society. 
Although  the  code  is  as  yet  unwritten,  it  is  none  the  less 


MARKKTING,    SAHARANPORK 


432  THE   POWER  OF  OFFICE 

potent,  and  the  sagacious  Hindoo  contemplates  its  work- 
ings with  inward  amusement,  for  he  has  often  been  ser- 
monized on  the  evils  of  his  caste  system.  It  is  perhaps 
merely  an  accentuation,  a  slight  exaggeration,  of  the 
leading  divisions  recognized  in  the  mother-country,  wiiich, 
after  all,  have  some  raison  cfetre,  for  they  resemble  in 
no  small  measure  those  adopted  by  the  parent  race  in  the 
primitive  days  of  India.  But  there  is  only  a  little  friction 
here  and  there,  a  shadow  of  discontent  among  those  wiio 
fanc}''  that  they  have  not  been  assigned  the  highest  places 
at  the  table.  Here,  as  elsewhere,  it  is  among  those  whose 
claims  to  precedence  rest  upon  visible  foundations  that 
one  finds  the  most  broadly  democratic  spirit,  together 
with  an  easy-going  disposition  to  ignore  the  whole  busi- 
ness. The  cultivated  Eurasian  of  either  sex,  nevertheless, 
often  finds  it  rather  uphill  work  to  reach  the  higher  social 
levels,  for  the  same  race  prejudice  exists  here  as  in  Amer- 
ica, and  with  less  reason. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  one  cannot  get  away  from  the 
impression  that  money  is  not  the  corner-stone  of  the  social 
edifice  in  this  military  hierarchy,  and  that  the  possession 
of  even  a  shred  of  power  confers  more  distinction  than  the 
possession  of  unhmited  bonds.  Titles,  being  as  familiar 
as  the  current  coin  of  the  realm,  have  not  that  prestige 
which  attaches  to  them  elsewhere,  and  a  rising  M.P.,  or 
a  political  "  organ "  of  any  sort,  usually  receives  as  much 
attention  as  the  owner  of  an  hereditary  name.  This  state 
of  matters  is  readily  explained  when  one  bears  in  mind 
that  the  men  who  govern  India  to-day  are  the  civilized 
successors  of  the  Vikings  who  Avrested  the  empire  from 
the  misrule  of  the  Moguls  and  Mahrattas,  and  founded  a 
military  despotism,  which  has  gradually  been  replaced  by 
a  milder  sway,  with  as  much  republican  latitude  as  is 
consistent  with  that  common-sense  which  seems  to  be  the 


UNDERPAID  OFFICIALS  433 

ruling  principle  of  the  Indian  government.  Those  who 
hold  the  reins  of  power  are  not,  as  a  rule,  oveiburdened 
with  money ;  and  one  may  enjoy  the  strange  spectacle  of 
a  vast  empire,  numbering  over  287,000,000,  having  among 
them  many  who  possess  extraordinary  wealth,  not  to 
speak  of  princes  holding  treasure  and  territory  bv  inher- 
ited right,  governed  by  men  in  many  cases  ''actually  liv- 
ing in  straitened  circumstances''  in  order  that  the}^  mav 
properly  perform  their  duties.  ( Vide  speech  of  the  late 
Viceroy.)  Obliged  by  the  exigencies  of  their  position  to 
keep  up  a  certain  show  of  state  and  to  entertain  exten- 
sively on  salaries  which,  with  the  ever -decreasing  value 
of  the  rupee,  are  often  barely  adequate  for  necessary  ex- 
penses, and  would  hardly  give  them  the  position  of  social 
units  elsewhere,  it  is,  after  all,  not  to  be  wondered  at  that 
these  men  who  hold  sway  over  millions  should  make  the 
most  of  this  reversal  of  the  usual  state  of  things,  AVhen 
they  return  to  the  mother  -  countrj',  after  long  years  of 
honorable  service,  and  are  lost  in  the  roar  of  London,  too 
often  with  little  to  show  for  it  in  the  way  of  gain,  they 
may  sometimes  regret  the  importance  and  influence  at- 
tached to  their  late  position  in  India,  if  not  its  compara- 
tive pomp  and  luxury,  as  well  as  its  harassing  cares  and 
responsibilities.  Like  the  nations  of  Europe,  India  has  its 
decorations,  which  are  usually  awarded  for  distinguished 
services,  military  or  civic,  or  for  exceptional  merit,  to 
judge  from  their  brief  and  brilliant  lists,  and  these  dis- 
tinctions are  not  to  be  had  for  the  asking,  or  to  be  gained 
by  what  the  French  call  tripotagr.  The  "Star  of  India" 
is  usually  conferred  upon  those  who  have  achieved  great- 
ness, and  there  is  another  order  reserved  for  those  who 
are  born  great  or  have  greatness  thrust  upon  them,  as  the 
rajahs  and  chiefs  of  state,  or  other  membei*s  of  reigning 
families. 


434  THE  RULING  CLASS 

It  seems  a  fitting  place  to  venture  the  observation  that 
between  the  attitude  of  the  government  towards  the  na- 
tive population  of  whatever  race  or  caste,  and  the  attitude 
of  the  individual  Briton  when  he  comes  in  contact  with 
the  humble  Hindoo,  there  is  a  wide  difference,  which, 
however,  is  being  gradually  lessened.  It  has  often  been 
remarked  by  Anglo-Indians  that  wherever  a  difference 
occurs  between  an  Englishman  and  a  native,  to  be  settled 
by  law,  the  chances  are  that  the  latter  will  get  the  best 
of  it ;  and  while  the  government  seems  anxious  that  no 
shadow  of  suspicion  should  tarnish  the  reputation  for  fair- 
ness and  equity  which  its  officers  are  expected  to  main- 
tain in  their  dealings  with  the  native,  and  while  it  is  ever 
too  ready  to  make  concessions,  the  manner  of  the  Euro- 
pean in  his  relations  with  the  humbler  classes  often  seems 
arrogant  and  overbearing.  This  attitude  is  sometimes, 
however,  a  mere  affectation  of  brusqueness  arising  partly 
from  the  habit  of  command,  and  it  is,  moreover,  invited 
by  the  servility  and  obsequious  demeanor  of  the  laboring 
classes  and  domestics.  But  these  subordinate  castes  can 
hardly  be  held  responsible  for  what  might  be  termed  an 
inherited  manner,  the  result  of  long  ages  of  oppression 
and  serfdom,  and  even  now,  when  they  are  gradually 
becoming  accustomed  to  privileges  which  their  predeces- 
sors never  enjoyed,  they  still  maintain  their  traditional 
attitude  of  conquered  vassals.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
among  the  educated  classes,  and  those  who  have  reaped 
the  most  benefit  from  the  established  order  of  things, 
may  be  noted  an  ever -increasing  and  even  aggressive 
consciousness  of  equality,  often  expressed  by  that  studied 
insolence  of  manner  which  is  the  aim  of  a  certain  class 
of  republicans,  while  among  the  European  element  there 
is  certainly  less  of  that  bullying  spirit  Avhich  was  for- 
merly considered  the  correct  thing ;  and  it  is  a  fact  worthy 


S     N 


436  NATIVE  POVERTY 

of  note,  also,  that  from  this  class,  which  has  profited  most 
by  English  rule,  little  or  no  assistance  could  be  hoped  for 
by  the  government  in  time  of  peril.  Notwithstanding 
the  financial  difficulties  in  Avhich  the  government  of  In- 
dia is  involved  at  this  present  moment,  the  discontent 
expressed  by  the  native  journalists,  and  the  general  pov- 
erty of  the  country,*  which  is  by  no  means  an  evil  of 
recent  date,  one  cannot  but  carry  away  the  impression 
that  India  is  a  well-governed  country,  and  that  much  of 
the  credit  is  due  to  the  men  chosen  to  fill  the  higher 
offices,  and  to  the  superior  equipment  of  those  whose  po- 
sitions are  gained  through  competition.  The  mills  that 
grind  are  not  too  much  en  evidence^  and  whenever 
one  comes  in  contact  with  officials  in  their  official  capac- 
ity he  feels  that  he  is  dealing  not  with  automatons,  but 
with  men  who  do  not  find  it  necessary  to  assume  that 
aggressive  and  autocratic  demeanor  which  most  repub- 
licans have  learned  to  accept  so  meekly.  There  are  few 
of  the  monopolies  f  existing  in  Europe,  such  as  the  ex- 
clusive right  of  government  to  manufacture  incombusti- 
ble matches  and  rank  tobacco,  as  well  as  to  exclude  rival 
articles  of  better  quality.  It  should  not  be  imagined, 
however,  that  the  condition  of  the  people,  particularly 
among  the  agricultural  laborers,  or  Ryots,  leaves  nothing 
to  be  desired,  and  the  "  poverty  of  India"  in  general  may 
be  considered  as  a  problem  for  which  no  permanent  solu- 
tion has  yet  been  found.  As  a  consequence  of  the  in- 
creasing financial  embarrassments  the  germs  of  the  strife 
between  labor  and  capital  have  at  last  reached  India, 
and   have  given  birth  to  strikes   conducted   with   truly 

*  "It  has  been  calculated  that  the  avera^^e  income  per  head  of  popu- 
lation in  India  is  not  more  than  twenty-seven  rupees  a  year." — Lord 
Cromer,  in  1883. 

f  The  salt  monopoly  is  a  notable  exception. 


THE  OUTLOOK  437 

Western  pertinacity.  We  hear  of  strikes  among  railway 
and  freight  -  house  employes,  among  factory  hands,  and, 
lastly,  a  rebellion  among  the  punkah  wallahs,  who  re- 
fused to  continue  their  refreshino-  ministrations  durinjr 
the  late  heated  term  at  the  old  rates.  Many  are  the 
schemes  w^iich  have  been  set  on  foot  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  lower  castes,  of  the  Ryots ;  and  even  the 
wretched  Pariah,  the  outcast  and  scapegoat  of  his  race, 
has  not  been  forgotten,  since  it  has  been  proposed  as  an 
experiment  to  found  a  colony  of  Pariahs  somewhere  near 
Madras,  and  then  make  them  self-supporting  agricultu- 
rists instead  of  a  burden  to  the  community.  Some  of 
the  most  sensible  of  these  humanitarian  projects  relate 
to  improved  sanitation,  as  has  been  mentioned  elsewhere, 
but  they  do  not  always  meet  with  the  enthusiastic  re- 
ception which  they  merit  either  from  the  English  press 
or  from  the  people  whom  they  were  intended  to  benefit. 
What  is  to  become  of  India  even  in  the  near  future, 
what  social  and  political  conditions  of  things  will  be 
finally  evolved  from  the  various  elements  now  in  fusion, 
are  questions  of  absorbing  interest,  and  of  which  it  is  dif- 
ficult to  foretell  the  final  issue. 


tup:  knd 


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THE  PRAISE  OF  PARIS.  By  Theodore  Child  Profusely  Illustrated. 
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THE  DANUBE,  from  the  Black  Forest  to  the  Black  Sea.  By  F.  D. 
Millet  Illustrated  by  the  Author  and  Alfred  Parsons.  Crown 
8vo,  Cloth,  Ornamental,  Uncut  Edges  and  Gilt  Top,  $2  50. 

RIDERS  OF  MANY  LANDS.  By  Theodore  Ayrailt  Dodge,  Brevet 
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ings by  Frederic  Remington,  and  from  Piiotographs  of  Oriental 
Subjects.    8vo,  Cloth,  Ornamental,  Uncut  Edges  anil  Gill  Top.  ^  00. 

ITALIAN  GARDENS.  By  Charles  A.  Platt.  Illustrated.  4io.  Cloth, 
Ornamental,  Uncut  Edges  and  Gilt  Top.  if 5  00.     (In  a  Box.) 

SKETCHING  RAMBLES  IN  HOLLAND.  By  George  H.  Bor(;nTON.  A  R  A. 
Illustrated  with  Drawiuirs  by  the  Author  and  Edwin  A.  Arbey. 
8vo,  Cloth.  Illuminated,  Uncut  Edges  and  Gilt  Top.  :jt5  00. 

ABOUT  PARIS.  By  Richard  Harding  Davis.  Illustrated.  Post  8vo, 
Ornamental,  Cloth.  $1  25. 

OUR  ENGLISH  COUSINS.  By  Richaud  Harding  Davis.  Illustrated. 
Post  8vo,  Ornamental.  Cloth.  >;1  25. 

THE  RULERS  OF  THE  MEDITERRANEAN.  By  Rr(  hakd  Hahi)i.\(;  Davis. 
Illustrated.     Post  8vo.  Cloth,  Ornamental.  ^\  25. 

THE  WEST  FROM  A  CAR-WINDOW.  By  Richakd  Hahdin.;  Davis.  Il- 
lustrate,1.      Pi»t  Svo.  Clolh.  Ornamental.  *1  25. 


CATHEDRALS  AND  ABBEYS  IN  GREAT  BRITAIN  AND  IRELAND.  With 
Descriptive  Letter-press  by  the  Rev.  Richard  Wheatley,  D.D. 
Illustrated.     Folio,  Illuminated  Cloth,  |10  00.     {In  a  Box.) 

MEN  TONE,  CAIRO.  AND  CORFU.  By  Constance  Fenimore  Woolson. 
Illustrated.     Post  8vo,  Cloth,  Ornamental,  $1  75. 

THE  BORDERLAND   OF  CZAR  AND   KAISER.      By  Poultney  Bigelow. 

Illustrated.     Post  8vo,  Cloth,  Ornamental,  $2  00. 

A  HOUSE- HUNTER  IN  EUROPE.  By  William  Henry  Bishop.  With 
Plans  and  an  Illustration.     Post  8vo,  Cloth,  Ornamental,  $1  50. 

LITERARY  LANDMARKS  OF  LONDON.  By  Laurence  Hutton.  (Now 
Edition  )  With  Many  Portraits.   Post  8vo,  Cloth,  Ornamental,  |1  75. 

LITERARY  LANDMARKS  OF  EDINBURGH  By  L.\urence  Hutton.  Illus- 
trated.    Post  8vo,  Cloth,  Ornamental,  $1  00. 

LITERARY  LANDMARKS  OF  JERUSALEM.  By  Laurence  Hutton.  Illus- 
trated.    Post  8vo,  Cloth,  Ornamental,  75  cents. 

OUR  ITALY.  (Southern  California.)  By  Charles  Dudley  Warner. 
Illustrated.  Square  8vo,  Cloth,  Ornamental,  Uncut  Edges  and  Gilt 
Top,  $3  50. 

THEIR  PILGRIMAGE.  By  Charles  Dudley  Warner.  Illustrated. 
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ON  CANADA'S  FRONTIER.  Sketches  of  History,  Sport,  and  Adventure; 
and  of  the  Indians,  Missionaries,  Fur-traders,  and  Newer  Settlers  of 
Western  Canada.  By  Julian  Ralph.  Illustrated.  8vo,  Cloth, 
Ornamental,  $2  50. 

OUR  GREAT  WEST.  A  Study  of  the  Present  Conditions  and  Future 
Possibilities  of  the  New  Commonwealths  and  Capitals  of  the  United 
States.     By  Julian  Ralph.     Illustrated.     8vo,  Cloth,  Ornamental, 

$2  50, 

THE  ARMIES  OF  TO-DAY.  By  Brigadier- general  Wesley  Merritt, 
U.S.A.,  Viscount  Wolseley,  and  Others.  With  Profuse  Illustra- 
tions.    8vo,  Cloth,  Ornamental,  Uncut  Edges  and  Gilt  Top,  $3  50. 

SPANISH -AMERICAN  REPUBLICS.  By  Theodore  Child.  Profusely 
Illustrated  by  T.  de  Thulstrup,  Frederic  Remington,  William 
Hamilton  Gibson,  and  Others.     8vo,  Cloth,  Ornamental,  $3  50. 

WINTERS  IN  ALGERIA.  Written  and  Illustrated  by  Frederick  Arthur 
Bridgman      Square  8vo,  Cloth, Ornamental,  $2  50. 

THE  TSAR  AND  HIS  PEOPLE.  By  Theodore  Child,  and  Others.  8vo, 
Cloth,  Ornamental,  Uncut  Edges  and  Gilt  Top,  $3  00. 


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